Toshiba kicks off notebook recycling program

The recycling scheme was largely driven by customer demand according to Mark Whittard, general manager for Toshiba Australia, who told CRN: “recycling the product is the emotive and the tangible thing that most customers want to know about.”

Business customers wishing to dispose of large numbers of laptops can have them picked up for free and receive a value recovery on notebooks able to be refurbished, stated Whittard.

Individual users can drop their notebooks in an e-cycle bin at any of Toshiba’s mobile care service centres in each capital city. Toshiba will then send the notebook off to its recycling partners who reuse or recycle 97 percent of the components. If customers are unable to visit a service location, a courier can be arranged for a small charge to transport the notebook to the recycling centre.

Toshiba has also implemented an end-to-end Green approach during all stages of its business. Whittard said this begins at the procurement stage where suppliers of components and raw materials must adhere to ROHS (reduction of hazardous substance standards) from the European Union to minimise the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of notebooks.

“We have a green procurement guide and very strict guidelines on what suppliers need to adhere to when supplying components or raw materials for manufacturing to Toshiba,” he said.

“In the manufacturing or assembly process we were the first vendor to remove both CFCs and lead from the soldering process 100 percent, and we have continued to do that.”

The distribution process has also received attention as packaging materials are being minimised and must now be both recyclable and made from recycled materials. The company has also begun using recyclable high-density paper pallets instead of treated timber pallets, which are more difficult to recycle due to poison trace elements. Increases in the number of boxes per pallet are also reducing the amount of fuel used to transport each unit from point of assembly manufacture to market.