by Elyas Harris.
Every year new type of electronics are being sold to the public. Have you ever thought about what happens to the old electronics? Probably not… they usually sit in your drawer and collect dust or they sit in a landfill and leach toxic chemicals into the ground. E-waste has been an emerging pollution issue. That is because people can not help but get the newest gadget out there. There were about 50 million tons of electronic waste generated in 2016. Just to put it into perspective, that is enough rubbish to fill the Eiffel tower four times over. If you are not alarmed, remember e-waste contains toxic materials like lead, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants orpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which according to the WHO they can cause serious health issues from inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation of chemicals in soil, water and food.
Toxic elements preset in e-waste can cause serious health issues from inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation of chemicals in soil, water and food.
As you can see this is a growing issue. But some companies are trying to put a stop to it. For example fairphone is coming out with a modular phone. This means that if a piece breaks on our phone you can simply swap it out with another piece. That takes away you needing to buy a whole new cell phone if your screen breaks or something similar happens. Companies have been working on creating a fully modular phone for quite some time. Another reason this would be beneficial to the buyer is because they can put the mods on their cell phone and tailor fit the phone with what they need. As you can see modular phones can help you as well. Usually taking care of the environment is a win-win! Would you recycle your old gadgets? Have you considered buying less stuff? Give it a try, it feels good 🙂
Click here if you want to learn more about what the United Nations is doing to solve this global issue.