The refuse from discarded electronics products, also known as e-waste, often ends up in landfills or incinerators instead of being recycled. And that means toxic substances like lead, cadmium and mercury that are commonly used in these products can contaminate the land, water and air.

"The fruits of our high-tech revolution are pure poison if these products are improperly disposed of at the end of their useful life," said Ted Smith, founder of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

On Thursday, Smith's group released its annual Computer Report Card comparing the environmental records of 28 tech firms.

The report, sponsored by the SVTC and the Computer TakeBack Campaign, found most U.S. firms lag behind their Japanese competitors when it comes to the use of hazardous materials, recycling programs and worker health and safety.

The United States generates more e-waste than any other nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. More than 4.6 million tons of it entered U.S. landfills in 2000, and that amount is projected to grow fourfold in the next few years.

Some of that waste is recycled. For example, steel, aluminum and copper are often stripped from outdated machines and reused in newer models.

But even recycled parts come at a price. An estimated 50 to 80 percent of e-waste collected in the United States for recycling is exported to areas such as China, India or Pakistan, where workers taking apart the old machines are handling toxic chemicals that can pose serious health problems.

Some manufacturers are beginning to assume greater responsibility for what happens to their products after they become obsolete. For example, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway have recently expanded programs to collect old computer equipment.

The SVTC report card evaluated the firms based upon criteria gleaned from the companies' websites. Only one company, Fujitsu, received a passing grade.

Fujitsu is among a handful of Japanese companies that have developed technologies to eliminate toxic chemicals by developing lead-free products.

"The leadership continues to be by and large the Japanese companies, and the U.S. companies tend to be far behind," Smith said.

"A lot of (U.S. manufacturers') initiatives are piecemeal and not really designed to address the vast majority of consumer concerns," he added. "There is still an enormous amount of computer waste being exported to China."

Japan and the European Union have adopted progressive e-waste recycling laws. The European parliament recently approved two legislative mandates to require manufacturers to cover the recycling and collection costs for their own take-back programs.

Europe's Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive are setting the global standard for computer recycling, Smith said. Under the RoHS initiative, any manufacturer who wants to do business in Europe has to produce lead-free products.

The Computer Report Card says that some U.S. companies have a double standard when it comes to recycling. While some companies have implemented recycling policies in the European Union and Japan, where such programs are mandated, they've yet to do so in the United States.

The report also criticizes Dell's use of federal prison labor to recycle old computers, which it says exposes inmates to toxic chemicals without the same health and safety protections as workers at other facilities.

On Thursday, SVTC staged a demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to protest Dell's deployment of a prison-labor workforce. Demonstrators pretended they were a prison chain gang breaking up old computers outside the room where CEO Michael Dell was delivering a keynote address.

By changing its recycling policies, Dell could be instrumental in forcing other manufacturers to follow suit, Smith said.

"If they would start matching their industry leadership with environmental leadership, they would really help turn things around," he said.

But Dell insists that its recycling program is environmentally responsible.

"We share the same goal (the protesters) do," said Dell's spokeswoman Michele Glaze. "We don't want computers to end up in landfills either."

Dell's contract with Unicor to implement its recycling program with the help of prison labor is humane and follows all federal laws, Glaze said.

"As Unicor says, these (inmates) are recycling their lives as they recycle these computers," she said.

Meanwhile, officials are trying to hammer out a national solution to the e-waste problem. Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) introduced federal legislation that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to create grants for private and governmental organizations to develop computer-recycling programs.

The National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative is also working on a nationwide plan for recycling electronics that involves manufacturers, retailers, governmental officials and consumers.

"There's still some hope that there could be a national solution, but progress has been slow," said Mike Paparian, a member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Some state legislators are introducing their own bills. California and Massachusetts have made it illegal to discard cathode-ray-tube monitors and televisions in landfills because of the lead content in the glass. Arkansas, Minnesota and Nebraska have also introduced e-waste legislation, and more than a dozen states are planning to introduce initiatives this year, Smith said.

Last September, Gov. Gray Davis vetoed State Senator Byron Sher's electronic waste bill that would have required California electronics manufacturers to add a $10 recycling fee to the price of every computer or TV sold.

HP, which opposes state-mandated recycling fees, aggressively lobbied against the bill. The company said the law would benefit its competitors outside California "who make a significant percentage of their sales over the Internet," according to a company statement.

"We think that federal legislation is (preferable) to a patchwork of state legislation that is burdensome administratively," said Renee St. Denis, HP's product recycling solutions manager.

The company recently announced it would be willing to work with state officials on a solution that would require all U.S. PC manufacturers to cover the costs of recycling old computers based on their market share in California.

"It's significant that (HP) has responded to the governor's call for manufacturers to step up to the plate," Paparian said.

Instead of imposed fees, HP favors a shared responsibility model where local governments and municipalities collect the products and manufacturers recycle them, St. Denis said.

Governor Davis favors a similar model for California, Paparian said.

Senator Sher reintroduced his e-waste bill last December after gaining support from HP and Apple. If the bill is enacted, California could lead the nation in regulating e-waste, supporters say.

"If there is not a nationwide solution at hand, we don't see that as precluding a nation-sized state such as California from reaching a solution," said California EPA spokesman William Rukeyser.