This is a ranking board from December, showing large TV, Phone and Video Game companies global policies on eliminating toxic chemicals when manufacturing their products and their responsibility they take when their products are discarded by consumers. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony do not have games consoles free of the worst toxic chemicals. Also, Microsoft and Nintendo do not take responsibility for their consoles when they become obsolete. While some of the worst toxic chemicals like brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are widely used in electronics, the most progressive companies are already replacing these chemicals with safer alternatives.PC makers are already removing toxic chemicals in some applications without increasing prices to consumers. Sony, for instance, is boasting of having saved money by carefully managing and optimising its takeback programmes. These measures should not mean consoles would become any more expensive. There is a rapid growth in quantities of toxic e-waste being dumped in developing countries like China and India. While Nintendo's Wii console appears to be more energy efficient compared to the Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation, energy use is not yet covered in the ranking.
"They are lagging way behind the makers of mobile phones and PCs who have been reducing the toxic load of their products over the past year. Game consoles contain many of the same components as PCs so manufacturers can do a lot more." - Zeina Al Hajj, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner.
Naughty, Naughty!
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