Recompute: the Cardboard Computer, (new product)

In the 1967 film “The Graduate” Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin Braddock, is given the following words of advice regarding his career aspirations by a well meaning friend of the family, “plastics”… ”there’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?” The family friend was correct, in 1960 less than 1% of municipal solid waste, (MSW), was plastic, while in 2008 the annual total of plastics in MSW was 12%, about 30 million tons, and this does not include all durable plastic waste products that were discarded, (EPA, 2009).

Plastics are manufactured in basically two different forms; thermoset plastics which are molded irreversibly and are used for their durability and strength and, thermoplastics which are non-durable and are easily recyclable. Although there is a market for recycling plastic, only about 6.8% of the plastics generated in 2008 were recycled, (EPA, 2009). According to the EPA the U.S. manufactured about 11 million tons of durable thermoset plastic materials and about 7 million tons of non-durable thermoplastics in 2008.

One use for these durable plastics is in the manufacture of electronic products. About 2% of the MSW in 2007 was comprised of used or end-of life consumer electronics, (EPA, 2010). In 2009 Brenden Macaluso introduced a computer manufactured in part of post-consumer recycled corrugated cardboard called the ReCompute, with the first of these computers manufactured by Montoroso and available for sale in April, 2010. Cardboard was chosen due to the fact that it is at the extreme end of the life-cycle amortization product sustainability spectrum, (L.A.P.S.), meaning that among the most sustainable of products, additionally it is a recyclable product, and is made out of brown kraft paper which utilizes recycled materials. In addition to cardboard being less energy intensive to produce than thermoset plastics and easier to manufacture, utilizing less manufacturing operations, and the computers are easier to disassemble at the end of their life-cycles. Cardboard is also safer as a material and is much less toxic and much more heat resistant than plastic, having an ignition point at 800⁰ Fahrenheit, while the plastics currently used in the manufacture of computer casings ignite at much lower temperatures, (additionally the cardboard utilized in the manufacture of these computers is treated with a non-toxic flame retardant), (Macaluso & Montoroso, 2010).

The EPA estimates that over 40 million computers became obsolete in 2007, approximately double the figure of a decade ago, and that figure is steadily increasing while recycling of consumer electronics is holding at about 18%, primarily as a result of mandatory state recycling initiatives, (EPA, 2010). As sustainability issues become of increasing importance throughout America and the world, the need to produce more environmentally conscious consumer electronics constructed of more sustainable materials is something that governments and consumers will demand. If The Graduate were made in 2010, one wonders if the family friend would have advised Benjamin Braddock that there is a great future in corrugated cardboard, “Think about it. Will you think about it?”

References:
Macaluso. B., & Motoroso. [2010, February 11]. Recompute: Sustainable Computer FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.sustainable-computer.com/faq/

Nichols, M. (Director), Willingham, C. (Writer), &, Henry, B. (Writer). (1967). The Graduate [Motion Picture]. United States. MGM/UA.

Environmental Protection Agency. (2009, November 23). Plastics. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm

Environmental Protection Agency. (2010, March 1). Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm