'A mountain that just keeps growing.' What to know about the e-waste left behind by your gadgets

[IronLionZion]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/31/tech/electronic-waste-explainer/index.html

(CNN)If you have one or more drawers filled with old gadgets and wires, you're not alone.

Decades of the tech sector's pressure to "innovate or die" have led to a long list of useful and flashy household tech products, but many of these same devices also have a need to be replaced at almost the same rapid rate that new technology emerges.

The result of this so-called planned obsolescence, combined with a limited number of options to repair older devices over the years, is a tsunami of electronic waste, also known as e-waste. And the fallout from it extends far beyond the headache of figuring out what to do with the clutter tucked away inside your home.

"Planned obsolescence just makes it worse. People now expect to get a new computer every three or four years, a new phone every two years," said Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based e-waste watchdog group. "It's a mountain that just keeps growing."

The most recent United Nation's data indicates the world generated a staggering 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste in 2019, and only 17.4% of that was recycled. The burden and harms of e-waste often fall to those in developing countries. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an "undetermined amount of used electronics is shipped from the United States and other developed countries to developing countries that lack the capacity to reject imports or to handle these materials appropriately."

We all have computers, cell phones, and other stuff. I wish things were more easily repairable instead of replacing them all the time. Be careful of throwing out batteries. There are places that will recycle or dispose of things properly.

Apple's repair service is complete kabuki theater. They just open up the case and replace all the insides so you're essentially getting a new phone.

I wish stuff lasted longer. My car is 12 years old and still going strong with no problems. Electronics, not so much. Heating and cooling can fry electrical connections sooner than you think.

Recycling center links from the article:
https://e-stewards.org/find-a-recycler/
https://sustainableelectronics.org/find-an-r2-certified-facility/

[2naSalit]

1. Thanks!

I Still have the last two laptops I acquired, every cell phone I have ever had... still looking for a place to dispose of them properly. The cell phone have the remote possibility of becoming targets the next time I go to the shooting range, haven't been in years but that's what I threaten every time I get disgusted with them.

And I take my batteries to a collection place but it's over in the next county.

[global1]

2. It Is Time For A Sea Change In Our Thought Process For Manufactured Items.....

It's time we get away from the thought process of 'planned obsolescence' and begin to manufacture items so that they are long lasting and have the ability to be updated.

We can't continue to manufacture items that out date and need to be thrown away every few years. The world can't continue to handle the trash generated from these items.

Companies have to start thinking about how to make a product that continues to function in light of the latest in technology that comes to being.

I'm sure that their are engineers; product designers; programmers that can develop such products. I'm sure that the finance people can figure out a way to make money off such developments.

It certainly would be a challenge. However, I'm sure we're up to the challenge.