Gadgets as hazardous waste Bashny.Net

From time to time community manufacturers put forward demands to pay more attention to the environment. As a result, the carmakers offer hybrid models, electric cars and cars running on alternative fuels.

Company for the production of beverages using containers with a lower content of plastics. New laws have limited the use of chemicals since 1980 in 76% of cases was the cause of acid rain. And so on.

However, one of the branches continues to inflict catastrophic damage to the environment, because society does not provide her the same pressure – we are talking about consumer electronics.

Did you know that every year we buy one billion cell phones, 100 million cameras, an infinite number of laptops, game consoles, Game Boy, TV's and music players? Most of them we send to landfill, replacing the new one.

Agency for environmental protection has estimated that in 2007, it was discarded 2.25 million tons of electronic devices, 82% of whom are buried in the ground. And it's a lot of toxic chemicals and harmful metals getting into the water system you certainly do not want.



Where is public outrage? Where social advertising, lobbyists, calls for the growth of national consciousness? Nothing for one simple reason: the principle of "disposability", which is the basis of business policy of such productions, very attractive to all stakeholders.

Very easy to give away or sell your old car, clothing, baby equipment or furniture – those are things that can still provide some value after they have become irrelevant to you. But the electronics? With her everything is different. Who needs your cell phone from four years ago, your black-and-white IPod, your camera to two megapixels?

Share Verizon free upgrade phones got the name of the New Every Two plan (the"New every two"). This promotion recently ended, but it well demonstrates our national obsession with craving for the best and the latest electronics.

Most people start to feel alienated, having three years ago a phone, that games on Android are slow, camera, music player or laptop. They see that the new model is smaller, faster and look more appealing. Consequently, it is time to change the old to the new.

This production business model is working quite effectively. Neither we nor the manufacturers see no reason to change anything. They do not tend to sell less products, and we also would not like. Will people ever at a rally chanting: "Stop to improve memory" and "Slow progress"?

No, the most realistic solution to leave alone the business model, but to deal with wasteful consequences on two fronts. First, we can insist that companies manufacturing electronics, creating more environmentally friendly products.

Factors, about which nobody cared (hormones in milk, the fuel consumption of a vehicle), have become an important marketing aspects. Why would these companies not to emphasize energy efficiency, use of non-toxic components and minimum amount of packaging in their advertising?

Apple is doing this. Their Internet page with a report on the environment monitors the impact of each product on the environment not only during the entire service life, but also during its production and disposal.

Also Apple stresses the compactness of the packing, the use of fully re-cycled materials (such as aluminum) and non-toxic compounds. Why would other companies not to do environmental activities one of the components of the sales system?

Secondly, we as consumers should think about recycling their devices when they are no longer needed. If things are pretty new, you can sell them either on eBay, or on "shopping" sites such as Gazelle.com. They send you a packing box for your old device, pay you for it and then resell or find another use for it.



If your stuff is too old for resale, you can put it to Best Buy, Target or Radio Shack. They all take and give a second life to old computers, GPS devices, televisions, printers, monitors, cables, cell phones, remotes, headsets, etc. the Shop even rewards you with a one-time discount on a new purchase or gift card.

Nobody buys a new refrigerator or an alarm clock every year, because the set of functions of these product categories is already established. Maybe the same thing will happen with our phones and cameras, because your PC now people enjoy longer, than it was ten years ago.

Meanwhile, we can improve the situation today, without any major losses: to influence manufacturers to increase their eco-efforts, and to force myself to take the old gadgets at Best Buy and Radio Shack. To do a good deed for the world, it turns out, is very simple.

Source: zeleneet.com