Hesstech President Featured in ES&T Article
Edison, NJ (July 31, 2009) - Hesstech President David Zimet was featured in an Environmental Science & Technology article published by the American Chemical Society discussing a recent paper that examined the product and waste flows of used computer exports to Peru.
The recent study, Product or Waste? Importation and End-of-Life Processing of Computers in Peru, by Ramzy Kahhat and Eric D. Williams found that nearly 85% of the computers exported to Peru were more valuable in the resale market than their equivalent recycling value.
However, as Mr. Zimet notes in the article, "[R]euse can simply delay the disbursement of potential hazardous materials by extending the period before they must be disposed by a few years."
According to Kahhat and Williams, the supply chain of PCs is a well developed and efficient integration of collection, reuse and recycling. While not globally exhaustive, their study indicates that economic considerations cause much of Peru's electronic recycling to be done in Europe where advanced methods recover more precious metals.
However, that still leaves a fair amount that is being shipped for informal recycling in India and China
Mr. Zimet proposes only allowing tested equipment to be exported from the United States while others feel that extra cost will make exporting reusable computers too expensive.
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