Amid criticism that technology company Hewlett Packard (HP) is not doing enough to eliminate toxic substances from its products, the head of the United Nations industrial development program Kandeh Yumkella vowed on Wednesday to take the issue up with the UN's long-time partner.

"We will deal with the criticism and push HP to deal with that, " said Yumkella, director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

HP, which is a UN partner in providing Information Technology ( IT) to developing countries, recently announced it will not eliminate toxic substances vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products by the end of 2009 -- despite commitments to the contrary.

In a statement sent to Xinhua, HP said it will not be able to meet its 2009 deadline because of the lack of alternatives available. However, HP said it will continue reducing the use of BFR/PVC in their products "as quickly as possible until these materials are eliminated entirely. This will remain a top priority for HP."

When e-waste containing PVC plastic or BFR is burned, it releases highly toxic dioxins and carcinogenic furans, creating a threat to human health and the environment.

As expected, HP disappointed environmentalists after failing to live up to its commitments. In February, Greenpeace kicked off its Cool IT Challenge, which scores the major IT companies on their actions to fight climate change. Coming in at eighth place, HP scored 13 out of 100.

But HP maintains while it is still pursuing methods to eliminate PVC plastic and BFR in its products, it is making headway in a separate but related issue: recycling e-waste.

Having already recycled 1 billion pounds of electronics and HP print cartridges in 2007, HP says it has set an aggressive new goal to recover an additional 1 billion pounds for recovery -- 2 billion pounds total -- by the end of 2010.

Processing e-waste can be tricky and expensive as it contains hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium. However, more often than not, e-waste is illegally shipped to developing countries where it is cheaper to recycle.

The United States, for example, does not monitor its e-waste exports because it never signed the Basel Convention -- an international ban on the shipment of toxic waste from rich countries to poor ones. However, illegal shipments continue to make their way to Western Africa, India and other countries.

Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN), an organization pushing for the United States to ratify the Basel Convention, estimates that 80 percent of the e-waste sent to recyclers in the United States and Canada is exported to developing countries.

"People use their computers elsewhere and when the computers are done, they're loaded in containers and shipped off," said Yumkella. "We are working with agencies to look at how we deal with e-waste."

Yumkella acknowledged that IT companies must take an active role in mitigating e-waste but as the saying goes, it's important not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

On Tuesday, UNIDO and HP announced the opening of 20 training centers in Africa and the Middle East to encourage youth entrepreneurship in information technology.

"There is a great opportunity for closing the digital divide," Yumkella said. "These countries need access to IT. We are looking how we can enhance support for creative industries, how these kids can use IT for media related activities, for theater, and for small businesses."

The new centers in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates bring the number of centers to 33 throughout Africa and the Middle East.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2009)