Looks like some ones figured out 12 deaths a year due to Ni-cad. poisoning (back in 80's mostly manufacture personal ) is to high a price.
NEC to Feature Ecology Symbol Marks for PC Products
January 26, 1999 (TOKYO) -- NEC Corp. said it is implementing an
environmentally friendly product development system and is preparing to affix
ecology symbol marks on many of its PC packages and manuals.
Under this system, NEC will place its "Eco Symbol" sticker on the packages
and manuals of its products that meet certain conditions and standards. Also,
the company will disclose the names of the materials used for plastics, details
about power consumption and percentages of recyclable material in each
product on its Web site.
Initially, the Eco Symbol will be placed on packages and manuals of all PCs
produced for the spring sales season, and detailed information is to be
disclosed at "98 Information," NEC's PC information Web site (in Japanese).
The computer maker plans to gradually broaden the use of the Eco Symbol
to PC peripheral devices such as printers, communications-related products
such as facsimile machines and mobile phones, as well as servers and
mainframe computers.
To qualify for the Eco Symbol, products must satisfy the nine points common
to all products as well as items set for specific products. The assessments are
expected to be done by the Ecology Product Promotion Committee, an
environmental management/measures group established within NEC.
NEC said that items for assessment are considered in view of: (1) global
warming prevention measures; (2) energy/resource savings and promotion of
recycling; and (3) control of use of toxic compounds.
As concerns PCs, for example, they are required to use less power, to help
prevent global warming. To achieve this goal, the energy consumption levels
in stand-by modes will be reduced.
As for conserving resources and recycling, conditions include utilizing
recycled plastic and magnesium alloy, used and recycled paper, and making
products that are easy to disassemble. Also, products sold to businesses
should be returned after their use is completed, and the parts recycled, NEC
said.
Polyvinyl chloride for containers and mercury cells/nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd)
batteries will not be used, to advance NEC's goal of controlling potentially
harmful materials.
The first products to carry the Eco Symbol mark are PCs equipped with a
liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. The symbol mark is expected to be
printed on packages and user manuals as well as on posters to be displayed
at stores. To facilitate recycling, no symbol mark stickers will be placed on
the actual products.
Related stories:
¥ NEC Introduces Environmental Efficiency into Products
¥ Gov't Formulating Guidelines For Environmentally Friendly PCs
(BizTech News Dept.) |
