Linux Reduces E-Waste

By Greg McNevin

December 11, 2007: If the bottom line savings Linux is often argued as providing aren’t enough of an incentive to make the switch, then those looking to beef up their green credentials may be interested to know that deploying Linux can also cut e-waste levels by 50 percent or more.

With Microsoft’s latest operating system struggling in the market and green concerns becoming top of mind for many company execs, the findings of a late 2004 study conducted by the UK government have bobbed to the surface again, with CNN shining new light on the debate.

Titled "Office of Government Commerce: Open Source Software Trials in Government - Final Report", the study claims that Windows machines need to be refreshed every three to four years, compared to six to eight years for a Linux system.

Depending on application, Linux effectively doubles the life of its host machine due to its lower spec footprint, drastically reducing costs, or to put it another way - halving the amount of waste a Windows machine generates.

This is particularly evident with the last few OS releases, with each new Linux distro using slightly more system resources than the last, compared to the hefty jumps from Windows 2000 to XP, and the monumental leap from XP to Vista.

“There are […] potential Green Agenda benefits, through reducing the energy and resources consumed in manufacturing replacement equipment, and reducing landfill requirements and costs arising from disposal of redundant equipment,” reads the report.

“Industry observers quote a typical hardware refresh period for Microsoft Windows systems as 3-4 years; a major UK manufacturing organisation quotes its hardware refresh period for Linux systems as 6-8 years.”

While a few years old now, the report pre-emptively highlights many of the arguments critics have been pitching at Microsoft after witnessing the power-hungry nature of Vista first hand. And with Windows XP experiencing a surge in support following Vista’s release, it appears that many are not keen to begin the upgrade cycle again.

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