Information and communication technology has tremendous potential to aid businesses and societies to dramatically reduce their impact on the environment through solutions such as smarter grids, buildings, logistical systems, motors, and virtualization.
Yet as the ICT industry grows rapidly, a sustainable industrial-societal system (or s-cycle) is required. One in which, for example, the waste products of one industry or sector become value-added inputs for another. With a holistic approach we must continue to work — within the nexus of policy, design, re-use, recycling and capacity building — to grow global capacity for development of practicable but science-based solutions to the e-waste problem. (Ruediger Kuehr, 2011)

Ruediger Kuehr, C. F. (2011, June 21). E-waste challenges: Re-use practices, principles and standards. Retrieved December 28, 2012, from United Nations University: http://unu.edu/publications/articles/e-waste-challenges-re-use-practices-principles-and-standards.html