Recycling- The Beginning of ‘Low Carbon, Green growth’

By Chris Choi
As environmental problems have seriously affected everyone over the world, being ‘green’ has become a powerful issue inherited across the globe.
Whilst the greenhouse effect has dramatically increased, damages by floods and tidal waves due to abnormal climate change are now not only other people’s problems.

Therefore in Korea, since Present Lee Myung-bak declared the necessity of ‘Low carbon, Green growth’ on the Independence Day in August last year, a number of countermeasures for green growth have been devised throughout the whole industry.

In the automobile industry, the production of electric cars is rapidly becoming the better alternative than using fossil fuel. Moreover, the research on a method of construction for reducing carbon dioxide by half is being efficient in the steel industry. Furthermore, the goods which decrease electricity consumption considerably are being launched in succession in the electronics industry.

Such efforts are to hand down happiness to future generations in the same way that we enjoy today from nature. This is more than desirable; however, it is also likely that we will need to reconsider whether this issue is biased or not; all the countermeasures are now focused on ‘future-orientation’ creating a future that needs new products, technology or new methods of construction.

From a different perspective, a great amount of resources and energy are consumed in the process of producing new goods, which may lead to contradict the ‘Low carbon, Green growth’ target. The better and more sensible first step is rather to manage existing products and use them efficiently before their durability is gone. Information Technology (IT) products such as computer or server can be a good example of this.

Korea is nearly at the bottom of the consumption life of IT products over the world. It is met with everywhere that the existing products are immediately thrown away when the new products are launched, even though they can be still used. This shows that this is not only about the individuals but also enterprises. Products in good condition such as mobile phones, computers or server networks are treated as ‘abandoned’ in two or three years. In addition, producers are even secretly encouraging to abandon second-hand goods to increase sales.

In the United States, it has been reported from a questionnaire conducted by ‘Fortune Magazine’ to IT managers of 500 corporations that indicated that most have experience using second-hand computers. This was due to cost reduction, compatibility with existing facilities and the unnecessary additional training, which may reflect ‘You do not know what you have got until you have lost it.’ In practice, second-hand IT market is expanding all over the world whilst it is still being given a cold reception solely in Korea. Korean second-hand IT market is poor and even cannot be given a calculated scale even though Korea is the world’s leading IT nation, which implies that our used products are mostly thrown away. However, it is highly inspiring that a B2B market place for Used Computer Parts such as www.tradebin.com has appeared in Korea as well. Most Participants of this website are overseas companies, but a few Korean companies have started doing their business at www.tradebin.com

So why don’t we value the old things? – It could be another brilliant way of green growth that hands down, will provide happiness to future generations.

chris@tradebin.com