Consoles aren't eco-friendly enough

PALGN News | Greenpeace not happy with manufacturers.

Consoles are causing unnecessary damage to the environment according to Greenpeace, and believes that manufacturers should be doing more to make their consoles more eco-friendly

The company recently conducted a study of dissected PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles and were not very happy with the results, according to this report. Bad bad chemicals and compounds, such as beryllium, bromine, polyvinyl chloride and phthalates, were found in the consoles, which are apparently quite toxic and hazardous.

The news wasn't all bad, though. Greenpeace did note that console manufacturers have improved though, avoiding some toxic materials (some due to legal restrictions). However, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"If manufacturers only looked at each other's products, they'd quickly see ways of replacing their own dirty components with toxic-free materials," said Greenpeace on their site. "A greener, cleaner game console is possible. There's no excuse for playing dirty."

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27 Comments

RXWAG

1 year ago

when are greenpeace happy???

the only omissions coming from my consoles are good times...except being beaten in fifa 6 times in a row...

Rabscallion

1 year ago

I would like to direct you all to this pun

"There's no excuse for playing dirty."

Orly greenpeace.

Itachi

1 year ago

Shouldn't greenpeace be focused on whales or something??

pdaddy

1 year ago

Greenpeace have done some good things in the past, so it's always worthwhile listening to what they say..

If the consoles could be made without the toxic chemicals and be safer, then I am all for it.. However if Greenpeace is just finding something else to moan about, get over it and go stop the people killing dolphins or something..

Felonioustub

1 year ago

I didn't know my PS3 was 35% whale blubber.

eviladrian

1 year ago

The obvious solution is just to never throw your old consoles away. My old Megadrive is still going strong, unlike pretty much any other appliance I had in 1992.

Cobla

1 year ago

I'm not surprised that consoles (and by extension most electronic wizardry) contain toxic components. There's very little incentive for console manufacturers to think about their contribution to toxic waste as without prohibitive legislation it mostly comes down to technical performance and bottom line manufacturing costs.

Considering how quickly computers and consoles become outdated (and often just thrown in the trash) this seems like a pretty important area for Greenpeace to draw attention to.

Also this goes to show that they care about more than just aquatic mammals - good to see!

rufati

1 year ago

Cobla wrote

Considering how quickly computers and consoles become outdated (and often just thrown in the trash) this seems like a pretty important area for Greenpeace to draw attention to.

Not true, at least not for consoles. Each console generation has lasted 3-5 years, whereas new PC components come out every 3-6months.

Either way, where has Greenpeace been for the last 20-30 years? Consoles weren't invented yesterday.

Karai Pantsu

1 year ago

rufati wrote

Either way, where has Greenpeace been for the last 20-30 years? Consoles weren't invented yesterday.

No, but they have (over the last year or so particularly) only fairly recently become such a large part of and commonplace item in society.

Jedi.Jell

1 year ago

Karai Pantsu wrote

rufati wrote

Either way, where has Greenpeace been for the last 20-30 years? Consoles weren't invented yesterday.

No, but they have (over the last year or so particularly) only fairly recently become such a large part of and commonplace item in society.

The bottom line is, if this is an issue, then it is an issue irregardless of who brought it up.

Whether any of the big three will do something about it, I have my doubts.

Fetidchimp

1 year ago

Well, i don't plan on eating my xbox anytime soon.
And i still have most of my consoles from the past so..........

Funky

1 year ago

This is hardly news. Most high-tech goods contain toxic materials. Your average mobile phone has about half the elements on the periodic table contained within it. Your average battery is also a miniature environmental disaster if you just throw it in the regular trash. I'm guessing 'things that run on/power electronic goods are bad for the environment' wouldn't make such a good headline though.

Jellyfish

1 year ago

Actually Greenpeace have made a good point. While they tend to only go for high profile targets now (Apple last year or the year before now Nintendo and others), making electronics environmentally friendly makes things cheaper in the long run. For example plastic is made from oil, which as everyone should know is getting more expensive. The more efficient manufacturing processes also don't use the toxic materials while producing electronic components that don't use as much power etc.

Fly

1 year ago

Hot air leads to global warming! Greenpeace mass distribute hot air through their constant blabbering about items! Therefore Greenpeace = can do more for the environment by talking less and causing people to sigh less because of their talking.

Woe be to the carbon dioxide distributors! Shuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn...

I highly doubt that their sea going vessels are running on vegetable oil myself to be talking about home consoles as some sort of major contributor, I mean we don't all own 6 figure boats to crusade around in and then turn back "do more for the environment you slackers!" How about you all paddle there instead hmm, bet you'd be mighty knackered to then throw around such opinions?

Marka

1 year ago

Almost all electronics contian these or other toxic chemicals. some computer component in the past even used arsnic (Don't know if they still do)

döppelgangbang

1 year ago

Electronics manufacturers should to strive to make green products. Everything taken from the system, returns to the system.
Complex electronics built for a consumerist culture with a disposable mindset do not have the product life of your NES or Megadrive. Your 360 WILL red ring out of warranty. Computer recycling (in many cases) is legislated to occur offshore, usually in a place where they don't know any better... like China. People are poisoned, the land is poisoned, the system is poisoned.
Everything taken from the system, returns to the system. This can not continue indefnately. Console manufactures should take responsibility, governments should take responsibility, we should take responsibility. Systemic change MUST be embraced by all.

Deathfiend

1 year ago

I see whats going on here....

No one pays any attention to them anymore so they find something popular and say its bad for the earth.

Well... Humans are bad for the earth, so why dont they hate them selves into a quiet rage and stfu.

Lord Haart

1 year ago

As much as I love the environment, the simple fact is that Greenpeace never seem to think before they speak.

There's much better ways to get people to change their views then to criticise them. You have to be proactive, not negative. GP have built themselves a lovely image of being massive whiners, and until they work out that there are better ways to get their message across, people just aren't going to listen to them.

Maybe if they provided economically feasible solutions to the problems they perceive, maybe then they'll get some positive recognition.

Sinthesys

1 year ago

The problem with Greenpeace is that all they can do is whine. None of them are in a position of power great enough to change things themselves and none of them have the expertise to offer reasonable, constructive advice. They are basically an organisation of good intentions and hot air.

Cobla

1 year ago

One thing they didn't cover in the report is power consumption.

I heard somewhere that all the PCs in the world use a ridiculous amount of power, so it seems logical that consoles aren't too far behind.

Also, my 360 spews out a great deal of heat when it's been on for a while. Good for the console as it (hopefully) doesn't over-heat, but from an environmental perspective all that heat is just wasted energy.

troublemaker

1 year ago

I'm also surprised they didn't mention that all of the consoles are really set up to sit in a stand-by mode, consuming electricity when not being used.

I put my consoles on a power board with switches and turn them off there after they have been shut down. eg

Here is the GreenPeace approved game:

Tom101007

1 year ago

troublemaker wrote

Here is the GreenPeace approved game:

are you kidding its made of wood, which means it came from a tree, and we all know how bad it is to cut down trees

but seriously they say in their own report that all 3 companies have vowed to stop using PVC so its already beginning, i would think that it has been happening for some time already just greenpeace decided to bring it up again

Eyce

1 year ago

Consoles are just Juicy Cows that live in the Ocean.

Vae

1 year ago

True, it might be an environmental issue that consoles are using toxic materials, but seriously, surely there must be far more deadly and numerous things damaging our environment than game consoles.

I mean there must be millions of coal power plants and hundreds of millions of cars all utterly destroying our environment and amplifying global warming a hundredfold and they whinge about toxic materials in game consoles.

/sigh

Again, I'm sure this is true, but there are more important things to campaign for first.

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