Shopping and Consumer Choices
The Frog will explore The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions by Heidi Roop in the first 100 days of 2024
In the first `100 days of 2024 we will explore 100 climate solutions that may “empower you to evaluate, engage, and act” to address on-going climate change as an individual on your terms.
How many old cellphones do you have stashed away? It turns out, globally only 1% of smartphones are recycled. The environmental cost of e-waste is staggering as we manufacture, use, and discard them. In 2019, for instance, 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste with $57 billion worth of precious metals wasted in reckless disposal practices.
Smartphone manufacturing is a major source of carbon emissions, as much as 125 million metric tons of CO2e annually. The production processes for smartphones is the bulk of the emissions with only 16% of the emissions coming from actual usage. The accumulation of e-waste at the end of life has impacts beyond the climate. It is environmental justice issue in that disadvantaged communities and developing nations are increasingly the victim of the waste we generate.
Historically the societal preference is to throw away the old and buy the new. Recycling e-waste is a challenge and manufacturers are not driven to provide recycled content in new device (see what Apple does). It is likely that you live in an enlightened community and you are encouraged to recycle your electronics. The key driver that while the amount is small, electronic waste in landfills represents 70% of the overall toxic chemicals that are present.
If you are a conscientious recycler of your electronics, you may feel satisfied as you drive away after dropping your devices at your local recycling center. What happens next, though? It could be that your device gets scrapped and shipped to another country, to avoid the high labor cost and environmental protections that we enjoy in the US. It often ends up in toxic dumps where workers, at great peril, salvage some valuable components for pennies per pound.
If you want some confidence that your discarded electronics will not be shipped to Pakistan, consider recycling them with Ridwell, who works with responsible recyclers that minimize the environmental impact of the process.
For your personal actions, given the climate cost of manufacturing these devices, keeping them longer is your best way to have an impact. And be motivated to responsibly recycle them.
And keep in mind that using the device has a hidden climate cost as “every text, email, funny meme, or online purchase we make requires a server and data center, which are incredibly energy intensive”. Check out the climate challenge of data centers and storage, and why it is a major problem for the US.
Next Up: Climate Action in 2024 – Day 49: Shop Your Values
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