Getting a new phone always seems like a good option. However, it can severely affect the environment. Buying new electronic devices is the key reason behind excessive E-waste. However, getting yourself a new phone before its expiry date also affects the environment adversely. Discarded electronics go in the landfills, and e-waste management systems are not effective at all.
When you talk to most people, they do not even believe that e-waste is a severe issue. In 2017, e-waste got as big as 65 million tones.
The Current State of E-Waste
You might not know this, but currently, electronic waste is becoming a major issue, and people are ignoring it. It has the biggest impact on our environment.
You might not know this but, even before the product gets to the customer, the electronic goods produce the highest amount of waste in its manufacturing and distributing stage.
Driven by Consumerism
Consumerism is a key factor in excess e-waste. Most people like you are also in search of a new electronic gadget, even though you might have a top-notch one right now. It seems like people have a growing appetite for new gadgets.
For this reason, electronic brands around the world are always putting out new gadgets. Recently, Tim Cook gave the Indian government an offer to sell India refurbished iPhones because of its growing demand.
Long Term Effects
When you analyze the statistics, you will see that America discards around half a million phones every day. This amount is the largest in the world right now. The sad thing about this situation is that all these half-million phones end up in landfills. However, other countries like Africa and China recycle their discarded phones, which has a lower impact on the environment.
The worst part of all of this is that companies manufacture phones from rare metals, which take thousands of years to produce. However, you use the phone for a maximum of two years and discard it, which is an ultimate waste of resources. And the long-term effects of producing more gadgets are overexploitation, excess waste, and much more.
Solution
We know that e-waste a huge issue. However, only consumers can fix it. You, as a consumer, are a big part of this problem. As consumers, you need to decrease your demand for new gadgets and move toward prolonging your gadget’s use.
You must know that Apple is the first to address this issue. They are planning to sell refurbished devices in developing countries and repair durable items they make.
Meanwhile, all you need is to try to hold on to your device as long as possible. In this way, you will be saving the environment and saving a lot of money. When you are done using your device, make sure you hand it over to a responsible recycling program that doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Conclusion
Buying new devices can hurt the planet in many ways. It will increase your carbon footprint and damage the planet as a whole. Being a responsible citizen of the world, you must reduce your waste that contributes toward cutting down world waste simultaneously.
You can also join programs that are dedicated to repairing devices and educate people you know about the negative effects of buying new gadgets now. You need to encourage them to prolong their gadget use.
