[Olpc-open] Waste Management - Basel Convention

[mail at johnbullock.com]

Dear Colleagues,
I am new to the olpc project, and would like some information about the
design of the olpc computer.  This is in preparation for a conference that
I will be attending later in November.  The Basel Convention is a
multilateral treaty organization of 168 member countries that is concerned
with environmentally sound management of hazardous waste.  As issue of
concern for the past few years has been the movement of used and
end-of-life computers from industrialized countries to developing
countries, where there is often inadequate waste management.  The
Convention will continue to address that concern at the 8th Conference of
the Parties in Nairobi, Kenya, from 27 November to 1 December, with a
theme of "Creating innovative solutions through the Basel Convention for
the environmentally sound management of electronic wastes."  (see
http://www.basel.int/press/bulletin021106.pdf)
The One Laptop per Child project might seem to be outside of this concern,
but it may not be, because it proposes a large movement of electronic
devices to developing countries, and these devices will eventually require
waste management.  The Convention might, for example, propose a material
component restriction on computers that would complicate olpc design.  It
has previously involved itself in the design of mobile phones.  Or it
might propose a mandatory take-back program upon sellers and distributors
of new computers at the time of original sale.
I will be participating in the 8th Conference as an observer, and would
like to know, in preparation for discussions, if the end-of-life
management of olpc computers has been formally addressed within the
project?  I know that there are environmentally beneficial design
considerations related to waste management, such as the use of LED rather
than mercury lamps for backlighting, but I do not know if there has been a
comprehensive assessment of waste management issues.  If there are project
documents related to this issue, I would like to see them.
Regards,
John Bullock