Hi everyone. Let me ask you a question first? Have you ever realized that upgrading your device could create significant environmental cost? 

Yes indeed, we live in an era of technology, where frequent upgrading of our devices seem natural and common, but very few realized the danger posed each time when upgrading our device.

Of the world’s seven plus billion inhabitants, more than 6 billion have cell phone access, while only 4.5 billion have working toilets. Could you even imagine that? Many believed that since cell phones are made of metals, they will be properly taken care of during disposal when they tossed them away. However, the number of cell phones recycled remains low, with most estimates at less than 10%.

And the even more disturbing fact is that every process involved with a cell phone or any other electronic device involve environmental costs. This includes manufacture, use and disposal (plus all the transportation that requires combustion of fossil fuels). Here is the life cycle of a typical electronic device with the environmental impacts that involved. 

Now let us calculate the cost that comes with a phone. 

During manufacturing process, our cell phone, composing of a lot of different parts, many of which are made of materials with environmental negatives. This includes various metals, plastics and alloys. We have to extract the metal ores which destruct our natural landscape, and crude oil are also extracted to produce plastics. All these steps require the input of energy, which comes from the burning of fuels.

After we produced them, we have to package the phone and transport it. In the global market, extensive packaging is not a rare phenomenon. This involves paper from trees, plastics from petroleum, and energy during the packaging process.  

Furthermore, after we purchase them, we need electrical power (from burning fossil fuels) to charge the device. If we then disposed it, all the additional costs will come along. A number of the metals in our phones are considered toxic, and if they are released in the landfill overtime, they could impair the quality of groundwater and cause water pollution.

With all these environmental cost that comes along, the average life expectancy of cell phones in the US is about 12 months and 18 months globally. Let alone the environmental costs of transportation at each stage of this life cycle.

In conclusion, I would like to share a few suggestions to avoid contributing to this huge environmental costs resulted from e-waste. We should always be careful with our devices and keep it ‘protected’. Do not follow the trend and purchase the newest device in the market. Become fully aware of the environmental costs that come with an device and change the device only when it is really necessary.

References:

Mcintosh, Alan, and Jennifer Pontius. “Human Impacts on the Global Landscape.” Case Studies for Integrating Science and the Global Environment, Sept. 2016, pp. 439–460., doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-801712-8.00004-4.