1. Greening the Computer Lifecycle:
The State Electronics Challenge
MassRecycle Conference & Trade Show
March 2012
Lynn Rubinstein, Program Manager

2. What is the State Electronics Challenge?
• Voluntary & free partnership program targeted to
municipalities, solid waste districts, schools, colleges &
universities, state, and regional government
• Supports government management of computer equipment
for reduced environmental impact.
• Promotes lifecycle stewardship of computers
— Purchasing green computers
— Use
• Power management
• Extending product life
• Reducing paper usage
— Reuse & responsible recycling

3. What Does the Challenge Offer?
• Free assistance & technical resources
• Action plan to achieve proven results
• Tools to track progress & measure results
• Individualized sustainability reports
• Recognition - for new & existing activities

4. Background
• Adapted Federal Electronics Challenge
• Piloted in Northeast with funding from EPA - 2007
• Program went national in 2011 - now funded by:
– Private sector sponsors:
Samsung, Panasonic, the Consumer
Electronics Association, Sims Recycling
Solutions, Metech Recycling, & ISRI R2/RIOS
– EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
• Managed & staffed by the Northeast Recycling
Council (NERC)

5. Why Focus on Computers?
Impact from mining through end-of-life
• Energy consumption – production & use
• Toxic constituents – e.g., lead, mercury,
cadmium
• Valuable resources – e.g. copper, precious
metals, rare earths, steel, aluminum
• Rapidly growing waste stream - impacts
…..Bottom line: greening lifecycle saves
energy & resources & reduces toxics

6. Environmental Benefits
For every 1,000 “greener” computer systems
purchased & units recycled:
 Energy use = to power 105 homes/year
 Greenhouse gases = 113 fewer cars/year
 Municipal solid waste by ~ 40 tons = 18
households/year
 Hazardous waste by 19 tons
 Toxic materials by 164 pounds, incl. lead &
mercury

7. Why Challenge the Public Sector?
• State & local government purchasing –
$35+ billion/yr. technology spend
• Cost savings
• Leadership
• Environmental benefits & sustainability
goals

8. 87 Partners,
Current SEC Partners 32 states, &
135,000+
end users
• 7 Partners in MA
• Cites & Towns (4
- MA)
• Solid Waste
Districts (2 - MA)
• State agencies
(1 – MA)
• K-12 Schools
• Colleges & Univ.

9. Partner Requirements
• Join
http://stateelectronicschallenge.net/join.aspx
• Choose your focus - any or all lifecycle phases
— Purchasing
— Use & Operations
— End-of-life
• Complete Baseline Survey of Current Practices
• Implement program requirements
• Report annual progress
• Apply for recognition (optional)

10. Track Progress & Measure Results
• Partners submit:
— Baseline Survey of Current Practices
— Annual Reporting Form
• SEC commits to:
— Calculate environmental benefits of
Partner activities
— Prepare customized sustainability
report

11. Sample
Benefits
Purchasing
Operations & Reuse &
EPEAT TOTAL BENEFITS
Maintenance Recycling
Products
Reduction In How Much How Much Equivalent To
Electricity to
21.6 million 26.4 million
Energy use 1.5 million kWh 3.3 million kWh
kWh
power 2,211
kWh households/year
279 metric tons 631 metric tons 1,170 metric 2,080 metric tons Removing 1,399
Greenhouse
of carbon of carbon tons of carbon of carbon cars from the
gas emissions equivalents equivalents equivalents road/year
equivalents
Toxic
materials,
343 lbs. 463 lbs. 474 lbs. 1,280 lbs.
including lead
& mercury
Waste generated
Municipal
6,849 lbs. 123,259 lbs. 235,935 lbs. 366,043 lbs. by 83
solid waste households/year
Hazardous
13,424 lbs. 9,768 lbs. 43,659 lbs. 66,851 lbs.
waste

12. Program Requirements
Procurement
• Modify procurement practices to require/give
preference to “green” computers – defined by
EPEAT® standard
• Ensure 95% of desktops, laptops, monitors
purchased are EPEAT registered

13. Program Requirements
Operations & Maintenance
• Establish & promote policy/directive for:
— Power management
— Paper use reduction
• Ensure ENERGY STAR “sleep” function
enabled on all computers & monitors
• Extend life of equipment
• Ensure double-sided printing features used
on 75% of printers & copiers

14. Program Requirements
End-of-Life Management

15. Requirement #1
Establish a policy, directive,
memorandum, &/or guidance requiring
environmentally sound management of
electronic equipment at end-of-life.

16. Requirement #2
Establish policy, directive, memorandum
&/or guidance promoting internal reuse,
reuse & donation to regional/local
agencies or non-profits (in that order)
as preferred disposition methods.

17. Requirement #3
Develop & maintain system for tracking
electronic equipment reused internally,
transferred to other agencies, donated,
sent for reuse/recycling, or sent for
disposal.
Document each equipment transfer.

18. Requirement #4
Provide recipients of donated
equipment with proper instructions on
how to manage equipment by using a
3rd party certified recycler at end-of-life.

19. Requirement #5
Use a recycler with
3rd party certification.

20. What is Third Party Certification?
Assessment done by independent, 3rd
party organization that is qualified &
licensed to issue certification to a specific
standard.
– For SEC, qualified electronics recycling
standards are:
• R2,
• R2/RIOS, or
• e-Stewards

21. Why it is Important to Use a
3rd Party Certified Recycler
• Only way to ensure not “self-certifying”
or making unsubstantiated claims
– No federal regulatory requirements specific
to electronics recyclers
• Known set of performance standards
that recycler is meeting
• Ensure that practices meet your
expectations

22. Why Participate in the Challenge?
• Demonstrating leadership in best practices
• Quantifiable environmental benefit
• Potential cost savings
• Recognition for your accomplishments

23. Annual Recognition
• Eligible for:
Gold: All three lifecycle phases
Silver: Two of three lifecycle phases
Bronze: One of three lifecycle phases
• Achievements recognized
— Award
— The media
— SEC Website

24. SEC Tools to Get the Job Done
• Online resources for each lifecycle phase
www.StateElectronicsChallenge.net
• Free one-on-one technical assistance
• Partner-only Webinars
– April: Using Virtual Desktops to Save Power
– June: Certified Electronics Recyclers – How to find them,
why to use them, & video recycling demonstrations
• Partner-only Listserv

25. www.StateElectronicsChallenge.net

27. How Much will this Cost?
• “Nothing!” The SEC is free:
– No cost to join
– No cost for technical assistance & support
– No obligation on your part
• SEC does not pay for the cost of
implementation., e.g., paying for recycling

28. How Much Work will it Take?
It depends on:
• Goals - what you choose to work on
• Partner preparation- how much progress
you’ve already made
• People
– Who’s on the team (or is there a team?)
– Who you need to enlist to help out
It’s up to you!

29. Contact Information
lynn@stateelectronicschallenge.net
802-254-3636
www.stateelectronicschallenge.net
NERC is an equal opportunity provider & employer.
Prepared with sponsorship support from
Samsung, Panasonic, Sims Recycling Solutions, the
Consumer Electronics Association, Metech Recycling,
& ISRI R2/RIOS