The new iPhone landed months back, did you get one? If so what’s happened to your old iPhone? Recycled, donated or out for waste? See below the shocking numbersin how we dispose our technology waste, known as ‘e-waste’. MyVoucherCodes have detailed an infographic relating to the poor figures.
50 million tons are produced every year, all over the world. Electronics contain toxic materials which can harm the environment and people.Staggering amount of weight produced, there is a lot of tech out there now all around us, from fitness bands to ever upgrading new phones and TV’s.
12.5{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0} recycled, which is a huge, off the scale amount not being recycled, considering the size. Which means just short of 90{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0} of the world’s electronic waste is illegally dumped. Portions of the e waste is shipped into poor nations illegally.
41.8 million tonsof e-wasteshipped to other countries in 2014.Overall capacity is expected to grow by 33{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0} in the next four years, about 7kg for every person worldwide.
9.4 million tons of e-waste produced from the United States which is the highest country to generate the most wastage. 71{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0} of America’s e-waste went into landfills or incinerators in 2012. Between 10 and 40 percent of U.S e-waste gets exported overseas, mainly into China. America is the largest producer of electronic waste and not recycling correctly. Nevada was named America’s most wasteful state for a number of years.
7.2 billionmobile devices are in use worldwide and whereas every single day 350,000 phones are thrown away. In America alone, $60 million worth of gold and silver could be recovered from mobile phones if they weren’t thrown away.
How you can help
If you were to count how many electronics you have in your home, the numbers will be a lot more than you think, before you get rid of your goods, check them over and assess the route it will go, is it for recycling, can it be repaired and reused or could you sell it on.
Referring to this article of what devices and gadgets we all have been through or currently still have, we’ll now cover how to correctly allocate your old items:
There are several ways to dispose your old equipment:
First, simply putting them to waste known as ‘E-waste’ via local waste recycling centres nearby. Search into your nearest e waste recycle centre.
Distribute them to either charity or to a repair shop. Depends on how the gadget is intact, if it’s not then you’re left with no choice to get rid. Completely understandable if the item is unusable and unrepairable, getting to the point where it’s the right move to abandon to waste.
Repairing your non-working item can benefit you if your planning on simply throwing it away, will have a small cost but will save you greatly in the end as you might of wanted to replace your item.
Sell your stuff online, eBay, Music Magpie, Amazon the list goes on. Find a home for your old items as you can earn money for them rather than they go to waste.
Now you precisely know the horrific stats we hold and know how to dispose your old or non-functional device considering the circumstances of your item.
