It used to be said that the world produces far too much rubbish, which must be disposed of. However, a considerable worry these days is something more specific: e-waste. Here are some of the best solutions to E-waste issues. It's a numbers game, but it's a big one: by 2016, the globe was producing around 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste each year. It is estimated that this is the equivalent of dumping 125,000 jumbo planes per year.
The Life Cycle of Used Electronics
The issue, of course, is one that we are all familiar with: technology. As technology advances, the life of our equipment grows shorter and shorter. When a newer and more complicated version is released, far too many items are thrown, or batteries fail to be replaced with new gadgets. Manufacturers, it is well known, design gadgets to make them obsolete in the future.
The rapidly increasing number of useless gadgets means that the quantity of e-waste being disposed of in landfills is exploding, bringing with it an environmental ticking time bomb in the form of dangerous compounds contained within those devices, which may poison our soil water, and air.
E-Waste Solutions
The great news is; there are practical and economical solutions to the growing environmental problems generated by E-waste solutions. One of the most tried-and-true solutions is recycling. The difficulty is typically getting that message out to a more significant number of individuals worldwide. If people can recycle plastics, cans, and newspapers every week, why not an old smartphone or laptop as well?
What Are the Most Serious Environmental Issues Caused by E-Waste?
In our digital era, it appears that fewer and fewer customers can live without their gadgets, from their smartphones to their computers, and even the growing amount of “smart homes” technology we're investing in. Consequently, our environment might benefit significantly from a break from outdated technology. Over 250 million computers will be outdated in five years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Toxins in e-waste include mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and fire retardant. In addition, lead concentrations in computer monitor cathode-ray tubes are considerable.
However, in the United Jurisdictions, most states leave it up to individual customers to determine what to do with their used equipment, and the majority of individuals toss them away, contaminating our waterways, land, and air. Nobody expects the quantity of e-waste we make to suddenly decrease – in part because the prices of new devices are falling, making them much more in demand throughout the world, thanks to a burgeoning middle class in developing countries that are turning digital. After all, half of all households worldwide have internet access, and more than 7.7 billion people own cell phones.
How can we have e-waste solution? The first is to keep all old electronic gadgets out of our landfills and rubbish. The same may be said for merely storing those devices in our closets or desk drawers, where the valuable properties contained inside them go underutilized. And there are tried-and-true methods for decreasing e-waste.
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