Electronic waste 2020: How it can be prevented

By Ahmed Ibrahim 

Nowadays with technological development, people discard their old mobile phones to obtain new sets which means a lot of electronic waste that works on polluting the environment through non-recycling or dumping. If you’re concerned with the environment, it is easy to save it by knowing this information.

Facts about cell phones E-waste:

• 20 to 50 million metric tons of electronic waste are disposed of worldwide every year. Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver.
• For every 1 million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of silver, 75 lbs of gold, and 33 lbs of palladium can be recovered.
• A large number of electronic waste isn’t waste at all, as whole electronic equipment or parts are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery.
• Some recycled phones are broken down into their parts, but many are refurbished and then resold to users in developing countries.
• Most e-waste is dumped than recycled, according to the EPA, with just 12.5 percent being recycled.
• Raw materials like copper, gold, lead, zinc, beryllium, tantalum, coltan would require significant resources to mine and manufacture. This is why it is important to recycle old sets and source these increasingly scarce materials whenever possible.

How to get rid of E-waste?

Your old mobile phone can be used by another person. Same with your old computer or television. Donate it to friends or charities, it is better than the hazardous e-waste materials ending up in a landfill somewhere.

You can also bring it to the recycler as many non-profit organizations and local communities offer options to help you recycle old electronics.

Also, you may have to take it to a tech firm as some manufacturers and retailers offer recycling programs like Apple Trade In, Mi Exchange, and Samsung Upgrade Program

To know more about E-waste that is thrown out worldwide you can visit Theworldcounts website, it offers statistics by year, month, and week or even by day.

Social and environmental responsibility of tech companies

Recently plenty of tech companies take steps towards saving the environment from toxic substances, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium that must be disposed of carefully.

The best example for environmentally friendly companies which solved the dilemma and reduced waste by creating more sustainable smartphones manufactured from Fairtrade gold, recycled plastics and conflict-free minerals, easier to repair, interchangeable by the user, supported for a longer time is Fairphone company which was founded by Bas van Abel, Tessa Wernink and Miquel Ballester in January 2013 and Its headquarter is in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

As a part of social responsibility, some companies dealt with Fairphone to reduce waste Ex: Apple. Bas Van Abel said during an interview with siliconcanals “We have a lot of contact with Apple and we share parts of the supply chain with them.

We managed to switch a factory to fair trade gold a while back. Apple also bought printed circuit boards there. I’m pretty sure there are iPhones out there containing fair trade gold, without Apple knowing.”

E-waste: Conclusion

It may take a while before larger companies embrace the fairer electronics path.

According to what Van Abel said Sustainability is not without surrenders, mobile phones will be a bit thicker when the battery is replaceable and it means that you don’t have to buy a new phone once the battery dies. The solution to the entire problem lies with us, the people that buy sets.

About the author:

Ahmed Ibrahim is a technology geek, writes about technology trends, technological companies, new products, new technology like artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, and big data. If you would like to get in touch with Ahmed contact him via:

E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @ahmedibrahim09
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmedibrahimmohammed

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