Electronic waste - planned obsolescence
We all need to be thinking about what electronic products we buy and how we dispose of them. We are now purchasing and disposing of electronic products at an alarming rate, mostly because products are deliberately designed to be replaced as quickly as possible - 'designed for the dump'.
Virtually all this electronic equipment contains toxic materials such as heavy metals which are harmful to people and the planet. Electronic waste is often exported to developing countries, where processing is done with little safety protection, exposing workers and the local population to toxins and poisoning their air and water.
We need to use our power as consumers to encourage companies to make less toxic, more easily recyclable and longer lasting products.
The video below, E-waste: Cleaning Up The World's Fastest-Growing Trash Problem, by the World Economic Forum, visits the world's largest e-waste dump
See also The Story of Stuff Project at storyofstuff.org/
Further reading:
*This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein
*A Life Less Throwaway: The lost art of buying for life by Tara Button
See *Amazon Renewed for refurbished, pre-owned and open-box products.
Image by INESby at Pixabay
*affiliate links