I'm a geek for shiny toys, and willing to admit it. I try and keep my consumption resonable, my laptop is approaching three years old, my desktop is an anchient box running Linux, and my Mac (for testing web designs) is an OLD G3. But right now, I can count 6 computers (I've got some "Make" style hacks intended for 2 of them) in my office. Three I use, and the others. I know there are at least 2 others in the house. Plus at least 3 old phones and misc other electronics.
Reading this amazing National Geographic article about the global environmental implications of electronic waste is sobering. Some numbers from the article.
"an estimated 30 to 40 million PCs will be ready for "end-of-life management" in each of the next few years."
" In the fashion-conscious mobile market, 98 million U.S. cell phones took their last call in 2005. All told, the EPA estimates that in the U.S. that year, between 1.5 and 1.9 million tons of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, cell phones, and other equipment were discarded. If all sources of electronic waste are tallied, it could total 50 million tons a year worldwide, according to the UN Environment Programme."
And what happens to that old gear is sometimes surprising and sickening. Much of it, even if you drop it off to be recycled, is sold to brokers who ship it to countries like China and Ghana, where the lack of regulation creates industries that pollute horribly and threaten the health and safety of their workers. Hardly a satisfying solution.
Some ideas-
Re-use is of course, always better than recycling.
- Is there someone in your life that could use that old computer? A student, a single mom, a charity? Even if it's old, you might be suprised at the very decent level of performance that a Linux operating system can extract from an old machine. And a linux installation like Ubuntu can be very user friendly, with tons of free software available. Ask your favorite geek for help if you need it. Or if you live near Berkeley, contact these guys. I've dropped stuff off there before. They use the rebuilding for job training, and donate the final products. Looks like the accept stuff from other places too, with shipping, or you can possibly find something similar closer to home.
- There are charities that take old cell phones and recycle them for various causes. Google has lots of options, including selling it, giving it to soldiers,and others.
Remember, that computer/cell phone/PDA still has value, and should be treated carefully. Don't toss them, and don't let them just collect dust. It's unlikely you'r ever going to use or need that 15 inch VGA monitor again, so dig it out of the closet and put it to good use.
Geoff
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