halogenated compoundsare listed in this specification including the 25 halogenated dioxins and furans,which are restricted by the German Dioxin Ordinance. As a part of Sony’s Green Management 2002 Plan, they will eliminate the use ofhalogenated flame retardants in all European models by 2001 and in all modelsby 2002.Many manufacturers are improving the recyclability of their products by incorporating recyclable materials into products, by making their products easier to dismantle and by marking the various materials contained in the equipment, for example: Plastic components of Apple products that are greater than 100 grams are madefrom the same type of plastic material; Apple designs its product with latches, snap-in connections, and single screw types requiring no specialized tools; Hewlett Packard designs many of its products so that they are easier to takeapart; many components simply snap apart, making it easier to separate metalfrom the plastic; IBM's DfE (Design for the Environment) guidelines encourage the use of snap fitsinstead of fasteners, and where fasteners are used, they use a minimum number of standard sizes that do not require special tools when dismantling, and Intel’s product design checklist encourages ease of disassembly and appropriate materials choice.6.0 Future Trends in IT TechnologyThe IT sectors are converging at a rapid rate and with the development of fibre-optic networks, data, sound and video will be accessible at a rapidly expanding rate. It is challenging to predict the extent to which the future will be different to the present. This section will describe a number of trends identified through the literature review and survey carried out for this study, but will not attempt to estimate the potential impacts of these trends because of the significant uncertainty involved.General TrendsMoore’s Law, based on a 1965 prediction by Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, states that processing...
