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Information Technology
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is European legislation which became law in the UK in January 2007. WEEE recycling covers the collection, recycling and recovery of all electrical products. Basically anything which requires a plug or battery with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000v AC or 1500v DC comes under the WEEE recycling directive with only a few exceptions.
Electronic rubbish, and computer equipment in particular, is a rapidly expanding stream of UK waste. Low prices allow consumers to replace "gadgets" often, and rapid technological change means there are always newer, better, more powerful products on the market. The result is a burgeoning computer waste mountain. Up to 20 million “obsolete” PCs are discarded annually in the USA alone.
Bury College recycles 100% of its obsolete computer equipment. All waste is certificated and the certificates are held by the computer department.
Also known as e-waste, discarded computer equipment comprises monitors, printers, hard drives and circuit boards.
What’s in my PC?
Material Proportion
|
|
| Plastic |
23% |
| Ferrous Metals |
32% |
| Non-Ferrous Metals |
18% |
| Electronic Boards |
12% |
| Glass |
15% |
Firms urged to cut costs by greening IT
A recent OnePoll survey of 1,000 IT staff, commissioned by Faronics, found that 42% of UK organisations have no out-of-hours shut-down policy for their computers; and 40% have no green IT strategies in place.
The majority of those without green IT plans believed they would be too time consuming or expensive to enforce, despite evidence pointing to significant financial, environmental and reputational benefits.
Bimal Parmar of Faronics said “The impact of a sound desktop management strategy should not be underestimated, especially when considering that only 30% of a desktop’s energy is actually utilised productively.”
Recent research by energy company EON, showed that £30.8 million is wasted every day as a result of idle workststions that could easily be powered down.
This article was reproduced from the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce magazine - 53 Degrees; issue 59 February 2012.
Bury College PC Start/Shutdown Times
600 staff members shutting down their computers out of working hours would save the College up to £60,000 and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 300 tonnes annually, reducing the College carbon footprint. 600 staff members turning their monitors off only can still reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 100 tonnes and can save the College around £15,000 per annum.
Centre
|
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
| Millennium Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| Beacon Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| Prospects Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| Innovation Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| Aspire Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| Enterprise Centre |
19.00 |
17.15 |
19.00 |
19.00 |
17.15 |
| *IT Repair - Network |
08.45-17.45 |
08.45-17.45 |
08.45-21.00 |
08.45-17.45 |
08.45-17.45 |
| Woodbury Centre |
21.15 |
18.15 |
21.15 |
21.15 |
17.15 |
| Link House |
21.15 |
21.15 |
21.15 |
21.15 |
17.15 |
*IT Repair – network – controlled by different software - PCs located in prospects and innovation centre.
Useful Links
For further information on Sustainability at Bury College contact:
John Brotherton
Business Support Director - Estates
Bury College, Market Street, Bury, BL9 0BG
or Email: john.brotherton@burycollege.ac.uk