Greenpeace Goes After Game Consoles

Environmental watchdog group Greenpeace has taken apart the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and guess what? The guts aren't very eco-friendly.

In recent years, environmental watchdog group Greenpeace has had some success shaming major electronics manufacturers into adopting—at least on the surface—more environmentally-friendly policies by ranking technology companies in terms of their manufacturing techniques and recycling programs, along with other factors. While companies like Nokia and Lenovo have received some limited praise from Greenpeace, media darling Apple has been repeatedly slammed, both for its computers and iPod lines and even the iPhone.

Now, the organization has set its sites on video game console makers. Last year, Greenpeace launched an online campaign comparing e-waste from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft game consoles; now, the organization has completed a profile of potentially harmful materials and metals in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. Surprisingly, Greenpeace found that all three consoles comply with European directives on hazardous substances, but found that the PS3 and Xbox 360 contained high levels of phthalates, which are used to create flexible materials for things like cable coatings. Phthalates are banned for use in toys in the EU, but current regulations exempt game consoles from that category. The report also found that all three consoles contain significant levels of bromine (often used as a flame retardant) and beryllium.

Greenpeace has also chided all three manufactures for dragging their feet on eliminating hazardous substances from their products, noting that Microsoft has pledges to remove LVC and bromine flame retardants from its products by 2010, and Sony has made a similar pledge, but only for mobile products rather than for game consoles or products like the PSP. Until recently, Greenpeace claims Nintendo had "non-existent" environmental policies, although the company has recently rolled out a set of statements that purely comply with existing legislation. Nintendo says it complies with all applicable laws, and also considers materials standards for toys when designing its products.