阅读理解 The high-tech revolution has inspired a pleasure endless stream of new and exciting electronic products that we just can't live without. In fact, the speed of technological innovation can make last year's must—have this year's junk.
And that's the problem. The average life span of a personal computer has been shortened to around 18 months—and this has nothing to do with worn-mice or damaged disk drives. Simply put, electronic products can become out of date before you've even figured out how they work.
So what happens to all those old keyboards, monitors, organizers and CPUs? Most are stored away in a corporate warehouse, taking up valuable space. But many end up in landfills, and that is where the trouble really begins. Computer monitors can contain up to 3. 5 kg of lead and actually be considered dangerous waste once they are so longer in use. Circuit boards in electronic products contain some poisonous substances that can leach into ground water if left in a landfill.
Unfortunately, this problem is not going to disappear anytime soon—in fact, it is growing by the minute. In Japan alone, people throw away some 20 million TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners each year. What is to be done with all this techno-trash?
One way to reduce waste is to avoid throwing away in the first place. Many companies reuse parts from old products in new models. This is not cheating—it makes both environmental and economic sense.
Cannon, for example, has adopted a corporate philosophy known as "kyosei" , meaning "living and working together for the common good"—including a basic goal of achieving economic development and balance between the environment and corporate activities. The company has even gone so far as to say that environmental assurance should come before all business activities, and that companies unable to achieve such assurance do not deserve to remain in business.
As part of that effort, the company has started a global recycling program with a goal to reduce, reuse and recycle more than 90% of its used products. In 1999, for example, Cannon collected 128,000 copying machines and 12,175 tons of toner cartridges in Japan, Europe and the United States.
Secondly, electronic garbage can also be controlled during the design phase. This concept, called "design for the environment" , is in evidence at a Japanese company, whose laser printers do not use disposable toner cartridges. Using advanced technology, these printers include a durable print drum with a super-hard coating that can produce up to 300,000 pages of high-quality printing. Not only does this make environmental sense and keep cartridges out of landfills, but it saves the customer money.