Greenpeace calls for toxic-free consoles
Environmental group says there's no excuse for using hazardous materials in hardware production
Greenpeace has called on console manufacturers to use more environmentally friendly chemicals and components in the production of their hardware.
Having conducted a lab study of the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the activist group is reporting hazardous chemicals and materials such aspolyvinyl chloride, phthalates, beryllium and bromine were detected.
The tests did show there has been some improvement, and that each manufacturer had avoided the use of individual hazardous substances in some instances. However, they also showed companies are still using some toxic materials unnecessarily.
"If manufacturers only looked at each other's products, they'd quickly see ways of replacing their own dirty components with toxic-free materials," The group said on its site.
"A greener, cleaner game console is possible. There's no excuse for playing dirty."
Greenpeace recently condemned Nintendo for coming bottom of the table in its guide to electronics, accusing the platform holder of failing to deal with its e-waste effectively and work under public eco-policies.