On Wednesday, the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas held its "Green Wednesday" environmental awareness day. The Consumer Electronics Association, which sponsors the trade show, has been trying to feel out its role in recent years when it comes to electronics and the environment.
Let's face it, consumer electronics are not the most environmentally friendly products on the planet.
They use harmful metals. They run on batteries with hazardous chemicals. They suck up energy -- a lot of it.
But there are companies trying to make a difference about how electronics affect the environment.
On Wednesday, the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas held its "Green Wednesday" environmental awareness day. The Consumer Electronics Association, which sponsors the trade show, has been trying to feel out its role in recent years when it comes to electronics and the environment.
The association is careful to warn against any policy or mandate that would hurt the industry, but supports electronics recycling and voluntary measures to save energy with electronics.
One example is the federal government's Energy Star label for products that use less energy. In 2005, Energy Star electronics saved consumers about $1 billion in energy bills and created an energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 295,000 single-family homes or the annual gasoline consumption of 561,000 passenger cars, according to the CEA.
At this year's CES, a new Web site called MyGreenElectronics.org was launched to help people find electronics recyclers, offer energy-saving tips and provide a searchable database of green electronics.
About 70 percent of consumers don't know about their local recycling programs, said Shawn DuBravac, an economist with CEA.
There are three points where people's decisions come into play, said Parker Brugge, senior director and environmental counsel for the CEA. Consumers can make a conscious decision to go green -- when they buy a product, when they use it and when they dispose of it.
There are companies that make products using recycled materials, use renewable resources to make products and use fewer resources to make products. There are also companies that make products that use less energy or less toxic materials.
Some companies provide alternative sources of power.
Freeplay Energy, one of the companies at this year's CES, makes a point of being environmentally conscious.
The company's Web site boasts that Freeplay prevents millions of batteries from entering landfills every year. The company sells products that charge up through winding, solar power and other means.
A lot of the products displayed at the giant electronics trade show are the sort of emergency devices you would expect: wind-up radios, flashlights and cell phone chargers. But there is also something for those who need more power: the FreeCharge, a portable energy source.
A user pumps down on a foot lever to charge the FreeCharge, which can generate enough power to jump-start a car or boat.
It also can be charged through a wall plug or by using solar or wind power.
People use Freeplay products for all sorts of reasons. There are those who seek out an environmentally friendly product, those who want backup power in an emergency, those who want to take the flashlights or radios camping, and even a typical homeowner who can never find a flashlight with fresh batteries when needed, said Angie Roberson, who handles public relations for Freeplay.
Disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and concerns about environmental issues such as global warming, have steered more people toward alternative sources of power, she said.
"They're starting to look for whatever those alternative means might be," Roberson said.
Solar Style offers a wide array of solar cells that can be used to charge cell phones, mp3 players or even rechargeable batteries. The company's products include a "battery on board," which means they can charge up in the sun and then be carried along for backup power use.
Brooke Warner, Solar Style's vice president of marketing, said there is a "sweet spot" of social, cultural, political and economic forces for companies involved in the business of providing alternatives that consumers want.
She describes what Solar Style does as taking an ancient power source and applying it to new technology.
"If you have a solar charger, it doesn't matter where you are in the world, the sun is going to rise, so it means you have power and you don't have to worry about plugging into the grid," she said.
While some companies focus on alternative forms of power for electronics, others take on electronics when they become obsolete or their owners have moved on to the latest thing.
Major companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sharp and Panasonic received awards Wednesday for their efforts to recycle obsolete and broken electronics.
ReCellular has created a business around taking old cell phones and either refurbishing them to sell around the world or recycle their component parts.
This year, the company expects to collect about 4 million cell phones, sell an estimated $2.5 million in refurbished handsets and recycle about 1 million pounds of cell phones and accessories.
"When that phone doesn't provide value for you, it can still provide tremendous value for people around the world," said Mike Newman, ReCellular vice president.
Source: McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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