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• Design for repair Some equipment is not designed so that it can be repaired
(at least not easily) and is simply seen as disposable. Include as many elements as
possible that can be repaired.
• Design for upgradability This goes hand-in-hand with the notion of being
reparable. Build systems that can be upgraded, rather than having to replace entire
components when needed.
• Design to minimize power consumption As mentioned before, the less power
you use, the less money you’ll spend and the less electricity that will have to be
generated. Your ledger wins; the environment wins.
• Design for recycling or a clean disposal This means designing systems with
material types that are easily recycled or can easily find a second life when you’re
done with them. It can also mean including elements that are less toxic, such as
using RoHS-compliant equipment or EPEAT-rated equipment.
In essence, including green considerations into the life cycle process involves considering
the end of the system’s life when performing the initial design.

Recycling Companies
If you’ve decide to go the recycling route, you should bear in mind certain considerations PART III
when making a selection. Naturally, you want to save money, but you also want to go with
a recycler who is environmentally responsible (not all are—a lot of that stuff in China came
from unscrupulous recyclers). You also want to find a company that is accountable and
maintains good records about what they did with your old machines. In this section, we
talk about factors to consider when selecting a recycler.

Finding the Best One
The quality of electronic recyclers will vary from company to company. Not all companies
are created equally. There is an implied sense of honor and responsibility just by being in
the electronics recycling industry, but this isn’t always the case.
Remember the resurfacing monitors in that halcyon Minnesota lake? The college that
owned them tried to do the responsible thing and have them recycled. It was the recycler
who did the bad deed.
Although investigators looked into who the culprit was who dumped the computers in
the lake, one thing was plain and clear from the ID tags on the backs of the monitors—they
belonged to a Twin Cities college. It was a PR headache for the college, and one that you can
avoid by selecting the right company to dispose of your end-of-life equipment.
The EPA recommends selecting recyclers who do the following:

• Maximize reuse, refurbishment, and recycling over disposal and incineration.
• Take precautions to reduce emissions and exposures to workers and the environment.
• Provide special handling of components that may contain substances of concern.
• Ensure that exported electronic products are being sent for legitimate reuse, recycling,
or refurbishment.
• Ensure that downstream recycling, refurbishing, and disposal facilities follow
management practices that are consistent with the guidelines.