Digital Life Cycles at MIT A look at the Environmental Impacts of Computers and solutions at MIT

Digital Life Cycles at MITA look at the Environmental Impacts of Computers and solutions at MIT Aaron Beals Vibhav Rangarajan Sanjay K. Rao Environment and Society Massachusetts Institute of Technology 12/6/2001

Agenda • Computer Composition and Waste • MIT Student Computer Use Patterns • MIT Athena and Department Computers • MIT Recycling Initiatives • New Environmental Solutions to Close Life Cycle Loops Life Cycle of Computers

Environmental Impacts of Computers • Integral Part of Economic Success • Proliferation of Computers • 50% of Households have at least 1 Computer • More and More Pervasive • Shortening Life Cycles • Resource and Chemical Intense Manufacturing Process like few other Products. • Hidden Waste Liabilities • Storage of Computers v. Disposal

Semiconductors Manufacturing is Resource Intensive Manufacturing an Intel 6” Wafer Inputs: • 3,200 cubic feet of gases (Nitrogen, Argon, Ammonium) • 22 cubic feet are Hazardous Gases • 2,275 Gallons of Water Outputs: • 25 Pounds of Hydroxide • 7 Pounds of Hazardous Waste • 2840 gallons of Waste Water Source: Semiconductor International Magazine, 1997

Hazards of Computer Waste • Lead • 4-8 lbs/computer (CRT) • 5% recycling efficiency • 1.2 billion lbs by 2004 • Plastics • Around 22% of Computer • 20% Recyclability • Mercury • Small amount • 0% recycling efficiency • 400,000 lbs by 2004 Source: Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC). 1996.Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap. Austin, TX: MCC.

Computer Numbers Increasing • In 1998: 20 million obsolete PCs (U.S.) • Recycling Rate: 11% • 18 million PCs of PotentialWaste. • By 2000: 75,000 tons of Computer Waste (MA) Photo courtesy of Recycling Council of Ontario Sources: http://www.informinc.org/cwp2fscomputer.htm and http://www1.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/04/03/disposal.ban.idg/index.html

Looking Ahead • By 2004: 315 million obsolete PCs (US) • By 2007: 500 million obsolete PCs (US) • MA Computer-Waste: • By 2000: 75,000 tons • By 2005: 300,000 tons • Hidden Computer Waste • 75 % of Computers are Saved • Hidden Liabilities Sources: http://www.informinc.org/cwp2fscomputer.htm, http://www1.cnn.com/2000/fyi/news/12/11/computer.recycling/

Agenda • Computer Composition and Waste • MIT Student Computer Use Patterns • MIT Athena and Department Computers • MIT Recycling Initiatives • New Environmental Solutions to Close Life Cycle Loops

Do you Leave Your Computer On Even When You are Not Using It? Problem: Energy Use 79% Leave Computer On17% Turn Computer Off

Would you be willing to stop using your computer or delay purchasing a computer and use Athena and a free PDA-like Device provided by MIT? Some People Willing to Try Alternatives

What do you plan to do with your computer when it becomes obsolete?

Information Systems Survey • Student Computers: • Survey Conducted (Spring 2000) http://web.mit.edu/acs/survey2000-results.html: • 92% of said they owned a computer and 22% said they owned 2 or more computers • 88% use an IBM-PC clone • 80% have desktop machines • 52% of students with computers own printers as well. • 56% buy computers from manufacturers and local retail. • The most common uses for computers by students are: Reading and sending email, Homework assignments, and surfing the web. • Approximate Lifetime of computer is 4 years.

Departmental/Faculty Computers at MIT • Estimated ratio of computers to faculty and administrative staff is 1.5:1 • Types of Hardware • Mostly Intel chips • Research facilities use workstations are mostly Sun chips • NECX (http://web.mit.edu/ecat/necx/) • Approx. 50% of departmental computer purchases • Others from manufacturer directly or through reseller.

Departmental/Faculty Computers at MIT • 650 Dell and Apple computers purchased and deployed last year. • 800 estimated for this year. • Common Uses: • Staff/Administrative Personnel: • financial and administrative tasks, communications, web, email, word processing • Faculty/Researchers: • Simulations, processor intensive applications • Lifetime • 3 to 4 years • Improved processor speeds allow 4 year cycles in future

Athena Computers at MIT • 422 Athena workstations in clusters • About that many departmental Athena machines • Currently deployed machines: • Sun SunBlade 100 • 512 MB RAM • 500 MHz processor • 19 inch Sun monitor • Dell Optiplex GX 150 • 512 MB RAM • 1 GHz Pentium III processor • 19 inch Sony Trinitron monitor

Athena Computers at MIT • Purchasing • Bought in bulk from manufacturer • Some individual purchases • None come from donations. • Lifetime • Most machines are replaced every 4 years • Some Dell machines are on 3 year cycle. Source: Joanne Straggas and Oliver Thomas MIT Information Systems

What Is to Blame? • Moore’s Law • Consumer Attitudes • Inadequate Education About Options

Moore’s Law • Processors double in speed: 18 months • Puts pressure on engineers • Computer power outpacing customer need

Consumer Attitudes • Consumer needs: word processing, web surfing, e-mail • Computing power of PC underutilized • Must have the newest, fastest, best • Willing to pay $1500 / 18months

Inadequate Education • Consumers, companies, institutions not informed about their options! • Recycle • Donate • Reuse

What’s Being Done Now? • Reuse • Email list • Give away unwanted machines to other students • Disposal • Old Athena workstations and monitors are picked up a by a disposal company – required by Mass. State law. • Not much recycling of machines occurs

What’s Being Done Now? • Donations • A group donates used laptops to families in third world countries so they can communicate with their children/relatives at MIT • Jerry Burke • works with Cambridge School Science Departments • gets used computers, restores them, and donates them to Cambridge schools (if not useful at school, donates to Church) • Informal network at MIT – from MIT departments, faculty/staff home computers, graduating students who no longer want their machines. • Paperwork is a pain (need to get machine decommissioned by MIT Property Office) – people are willing if he takes care of paperwork. Source: Jerry Burke

Our Solution The Central Office (C.O.) • In charge of computing at MIT • Controls all flows in / out • Maintains inventory database • Controls internal flows

C.O. Duties • Purchases (Green computing – NECX) • Student • Departmental • Inventory • C.O. Purchased machines • Student-owned machines (done already) • Simplifies paperwork

C.O. : Student Purchases • Subsidize student purchases • Recycle old campus machines • “Obsolete” computers are fine for email, etc. • Promote purchases from “green” companies • Environmentally friendly • Canon, Toshiba, IBM • See SVTC list

C.O. : Power-Saving • Purchase Energy-Star compliant machines • Ensure power-down of unnecessary devices • CRT timeouts • Issues raised by IS • Our solution: 10-minute timeout

C.O. : Distributed Computing • MIT computing resources underutilized • Distributed computing saves money • Old machines still useful! • Current examples: • SETI@Home • distributed.net • United Devices

C.O. : End-of-Life • Reuse • Current Method: reuse@mit • Proposed Method: reuse@mit web page • Departmental reuse • Coordinated by C.O. • “Obsolete” machines revalued

C.O. : End-of-Life • Donation • Charity Organizations, Schools, Libraries, Overseas Programs • In Massachusetts: • Cambridge Computer Donation Program • East-West Education Development Foundation • Mindshare Collaborative • TecsChange • Virtually Wired Educational Foundation

MIT Impacts the World • Lack of Environmentally-aware classes (Course 6, especially) • MIT needs green-design classes • PCB Parts • Modular computing • Change can start here!

Summary • Computer waste is a manageable problem • Student level • Institute level • MIT’s current system inadequate • Our Proposal • E-mail to MCC, IS, SIPB, Property Office • Posted on web page

Digital Life Cycles at MIT A look at the Environmental Impacts of Computers and solutions at MIT