Recovered for reuse 3.5 million hardware units weighing 75 million pounds (34,000 tonnes), an increase of more than 16 percent compared with 2007
Recycled 265 million pounds (120,000 tonnes), a 6 percent increase in annual recycling volume over 2007 levels
Introduced supplies recycling program in Costa Rica
Conducted on-site audits of 13 reuse vendors and 30 recycling vendors in 22 countries
Introduced several products that incorporate recycled materials and include features to facilitate their recyclability (see Sustainable design)
Reusing a product extends its life and maximizes its value. Recycling minimizes environmental impacts associated with waste disposal and reduces the need for raw materials and energy to manufacture new products. We estimate that we avoided 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in 2008 through our recycling activities.1 HP is committed to increasing the volume of our products recovered for reuse and recycling.2
Businesses and consumers increasingly choose manufacturers that offer responsible options for used equipment. Many governments have passed legislation, such as the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, requiring discarded electronic equipment to be recycled.
Four guiding principles form the foundation of our actions in product reuse and recycling:
- Regional customization
- Embedded sustainability and efficient execution
- Accountability and transparency
- Leverage and legislation
Each guiding principle is described in the graphic below. Collectively, they help us address local legislation and economic conditions, develop and manage sustainable and cost-effective programs, monitor and measure the performance of our vendors, and benefit HP as well as our customers.
| HP reuse and recycling principles |
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Regional customization
Our aim is to provide convenient and competitive product take-back while meeting HP’s reuse and recycling standards in all regions, but widely varying local capabilities and customer expectations require customized solutions. Recycling infrastructure does not exist in every country, so we work with governments, NGOs and other businesses to expand the global capacity for recycling. However, we realize that in many countries, including China and India, an informal sector collects e-waste and provides a living for low-income workers. We take this into account by promoting solutions that improve worker health and safety while also providing meaningful employment. Read more.
Embedded sustainability and efficient execution
We recognize that changing commodity markets impact the sustainability of recycling over the long term. Recycling vendors must be able to sustain a viable living, and commodity markets must yield acceptable returns after investments in worker health and safety. We work closely with our partners to ensure they have appropriate incentive to continue collecting e-waste on behalf of HP, and can profit from collecting and processing equipment from the IT and other industries. Read more about our approach.
Accountability and transparency
We acknowledge the opportunities and challenges faced by electronics recycling programs and recognize that the growing volume of e-waste presents a challenge in many developing countries. When local recyclers do not meet our performance standards, the option to transport materials to approved recyclers in other countries may be the only viable alternative. We manage an extensive audit program to monitor our reuse and recycling vendors and share the summary results of those audits.
Leverage and legislation
Fragmented legislation creates inefficiencies that add costs for producers and consumers, and do not help to solve the challenge of e-waste. In the United States, recycling charges imposed by the government vary significantly by state and at times exceed the cost at which HP and our partners can recycle equipment. In the EU, countries vary in their implementations of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. We apply our influence and expertise to support the development of harmonized legislative solutions, including a national framework and legislation on e-waste in the United States and more streamlined implementation of WEEE in Europe. See more information about HP’s public policy activities in this area.
HP believes that along with governments and customers, manufacturers share the responsibility for treating IT products appropriately at the end of their useful life. We operate reuse and recycling services in 53 countries or territories worldwide. In 2008, we met with many government officials, industry partners and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the lack of recycling infrastructure and explore feasible recycling alternatives around the world.
In the United States, we were one of the first companies awarded the Green Recycling and Asset Disposal for the Enterprise (GRADE) certification by the research organization IDC in 2008. Additionally, in January 2009 we launched a free U.S. buyback program for consumers.
We audit our reuse and recycling vendors to ensure they comply with HP standards, and we expanded our audit program significantly in 2008.
Our goals are to recycle 2 billion pounds (900,000 tonnes) of electronic products and supplies by the end of 2010 (since 1987), and reuse 450 million pounds (200,000 tonnes) of electronic products by the end of 2010 (since 2003). In total, HP has recovered more than 1.71 billion pounds to date, and is committed to transparent reporting of our progress toward our goals.
| Product reuse and recycling at HP |
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* The relationship is directly between customer and charity.
