US technology companies have been criticised for failing to match their foreign counterparts when it comes to electronics recycling and reducing hazardous waste.
The latest annual report from recycling proponents Computer TakeBack Campaign accused many American computer manufacturers of not doing enough to reduce "e-waste" and of using harmful materials such as lead and polyvinyl chloride in their production processes.
Computer TakeBack gave poor or failed grades to companies such as HP and Gateway ,and was particularly critical of Dell for failing to send company representatives to shareholder meetings involving toxic materials policy. It also said that Dell was putting prisoners" safety at risk by using the US government contractor, UNICOR, which employs prison inmates to recycle defunct computers.
"The Dell position on e-waste is a stain on the soul of Dell -- the company and its founder," said the report. A spokesperson for Dell said the company encourages consumers to recycle computers by requiring owners of its PCs to only pay shipping charges when returning their of out-of-date machines. Indeed, Dell is only of the few PC companies that take back old computers from customers at a relatively low cost.