HONG KONG, Nov. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland conducted the first CLPCR contractor validation for Lenovo and its recycled material suppliers. The first grades of CLPCR-containing materials to pass validation will be applied to Lenovo Group's new Lenovo V410z all-in-one computer and ThinkVision T22v-10 monitor, to be released in 2017. These materials, which contain 65% and 85% net CLPCR materials, will give the products up to 12% and 45% CLPCR materials as a percentage of the total plastics weight. Lenovo has a Cross BU Team that is continually exploring green materials and potential use cases in our products, which includes these closed loop materials. Lenovo plans to further increase the CLPCR content of its new products over the next 1-2 years in order to build a complete closed-loop recycling system.
Many governments and some organizations are developing rules and guidelines on electronics, textiles, commodities, handicrafts, and products made from plastic, metal, paper, and glass, to slow the depletion of resources and environmental impact. The addition of reclaimed materials to raw materials is also being encouraged to reduce raw-material costs and satisfy environmental requirements.
In the past, environmental standards were focused on reducing polluting emissions during production. Over time, this framework was expanded to include manufacturer responsibility for ease of disassembly and recycling solutions, and has now evolved into the cradle-to-cradle concept. To extend product lifecycles, recycling of the product and the recyclability of its materials are now taken into consideration from the start of product design. However, in reality whether waste products can actually be entered into the recycling system effectively for recovery still depends on whether the product's original design promotes recyclability.
Apart from the effective recycling and reuse of products, "closed-loop" systems set an even more rigorous requirement on the method of reuse. Namely, waste products must be recovered and remade into a product of the same type. For example, waste electronics and electrical products must be recycled and made into new electronic and electrical products. In other words, select materials that can be reused are recovered and used to manufacture new products to boost material reuse. Such "Closed Loop Reclamation Systems" have many detailed requirements. Manufacturers can refer to EN 15343:2007 and look at the "Approved Recycling Standard," "Quality Assurance Operation Requirements," and "Recovery Ratio" to validate their sources of waste and control processes using a hierarchical waste-product traceability scheme. This can then be used to satisfy the traceability requirements for "Closed-Loop Post-Consumer Recycled" (CLPCR) materials.
This new product reflects the importance of green issues such as electronic and electrical waste recycling at Lenovo, and will also help to reduce the use of raw materials. In addition, it further demonstrates to consumers Lenovo's support and commitment to environmental sustainability in a new age of green consumption.
