U.N. agencies have warned that waste from electronics is piling up worldwide while recycling rates remain low and are likely to fall even further.
The agencies were referring to “e-waste,” which is defined as discarded devices with a plug or battery, including cellphones, electronic toys, TVs, microwave ovens, e-cigarettes, laptop computers and solar panels. It does not include waste from electronic vehicles, which fall into a separate category.
In a report released Wednesday, the U.N.’s International Telecommunications Union and research arm UNITAR said some 62 million tons of “e-waste” was generated in 2022, enough to fill tractor-trailers that could be lined up bumper to bumper around the globe. It’s on track to reach 82 million tons by 2030.
Metals — including copper, gold and iron — made up half of the 62 million tons, worth a total of some $91 billion, the report said. Plastics accounted for 17 million tons and the remaining 14 million tons include substances like composite materials and glass.
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One of the problems with using older devices for a long time, even if they are repaired, is that common ways people use their computers (I’m including smartphones, tablets, laptops etc. here) gets slower over time. See How web bloat impacts users with slow connections by danluu@mastodon.social
And shit like MS randomly deciding to essentially brick millions of devices for no reason doesn’t exactly help the issue.
There needs to be a guarantee for updates. And especially developers need to get their shit together and not bloating every shitty little app to a monster.
Teams alone, while being idle in the background, consumes more RAM than my 2004 laptop had installed - and I ran GTA, ICQ, MSN and iTunes simultaneously on that thing.
Thanks for the video , it was an eye opener, to say the least.
When I drop off my electronics at “recycling” facilities, I always wonder if they don’t just end up at a place like this. It’s hard to tell if sending them to a local landfill wouldn’t be less impactful on the environment.
Out of sight, out of mind I guess.
Yeah, this is my concern to. Is this item just going to end up on a burning trash heap somewhere, or is it actually going to be recycled? Better to at least try, but even so it’s frustrating…
Same. I’m in Australia so there is a lot of space. At the supermarket near me they have a dedicated battery recyclin g bin, so I guess I trust this a little more than those general recycling bins. That trust is even involved is not ideal though.
For now I just try hard to keep old stuff going for my friends and family. Software-wise they all use native apps for personal and work, so I see about 7-8 years of life for each laptop/desktop.