We all have that one lonely drawer in our house that is filled with old, worn-out electronics. Now, picture that pile in your drawer as a huge landfill of electronics, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, emitting toxins and poisons in the air. The buildup of thrown-away electronics contributes to electronic waste, which is harmful to our environment.
“For every new device being purchased, there’s an old device being thrown away, because of the increasing amounts of new devices and the exponential growth in technology,” sophomore Joseph Atallah said.
When Apple released the iPhone 5, it altered its charger so that the company could profit more. This change was difficult for Apple users because many had older products that all shared the same charger. As a result, buyers had to essentially throw away their old chargers and buy a different one for their new phones.
The iPhone 7 is coming out soon, and it is rumored that Apple is getting rid of the headphone jack in order to make the phone even thinner. The company will then release wireless headphones specially designed for the phone. Apple is once again preventing buyers from using Apple products that they already own. The company is obviously benefitting from the profits, but it doesn’t seem to care about the amount of waste that results.
Not only is changing the common technology that we use a nuisance, but it is hurting the ecosystem.
According to ifixit.org, a website that introduces ways to repair electronics rather than wasting them, 60% of electronics end up in landfills, resulting in more than 20 tons of electronic waste per year.
Apple claims that consumers will benefit in the long run, but it isn’t thinking of the long term effects. There are ways Apple can change its influence on electronic waste. The company already allows customers to recycle their old Apple products, such as iPhones, iPods and Macs. It can expand its options and allow customers to bring in old headphones, chargers and other small accessories. Until Apple steps up and changes its system of preventing customers from using their old products, it will remain a large contributor to electronic waste.
The vast majority of Trinity students have iPhones and other Apple products.As new models are produced, we immediately upgrade our old ones. Some of us pass them down to our younger siblings or save them as backups. However, not everyone reuses old electronics. We cause problems by throwing them away like they’re just more pieces of litter.
Electronics contain toxic chemicals that are harmful not only to the environment, but to humans. These chemicals eventually end up in the soil, the water we drink or the ecosystem.
Electronic waste isn’t just a problem in America; it has a global impact. One of the main reasons why electronics are thrown away is that people generally don’t know what else to do with them. People are ignorant to the fact that throwing away electronics is harmful and therefore do it without thinking twice.
“Consumers are more of a problem than the companies because they aren’t holding on to their equipment as long as in the past,” computer science department Ralph Mazza said. We have become a throw-away society.
A way we can help prevent this is by educating people about the danger of disposing of electronics in an irresponsible way.
“Check with your local trash collection agency as to their policy on electronic waste,” Mazza said. “Sometimes they will have a collection day when they will take old electronics for free.”
There also needs to be more electronic repair and refurbishment on a global level. That way, people will have places to go to get their old electronics well taken care of. There are a very limited number of places that recycle old products and refurbish them, which is problematic.
“Recycling helps, but many people are not doing it. Lead, mercury and cadmium as well as gold and silver are being dumped,” Mazza said. “Lead in monitors and TVs is a main contributor to e-waste. Before discarding your old electronics, look to donate them to churches or schools, or send them off for recycling.”
Many are unaware of the problem of electronic waste, and therefore need to be educated about this matter immediately because of its harmful effects on the earth and even ourselves. We need to be more careful about how we treat our old products and spread the word.
