An electronic wasteland
The importance of recycling used electronics.
Published on September 30 2013 |
Written by Chris Mills
There鈥檚 no better symbol of 鈥榥oughties鈥� consumerism than the iPhone: the quintessential smartphone, coveted by millions and the pride and joy of many a teenager. But after a few years of hard use, these status symbols often get unceremoniously trashed, in a process that鈥檚 creating a growing problem for the economy and environment alike.
Technology, in general, has a fairly terrible lifespan. The components are not built to last 鈥� the lithium-ion batteries that power most electronics have a shelf life of around two years. Additionally, the rapid improvements in computing power render modern software too resource-needy for old machines (just think of trying to install the latest version of Windows on a PC from a few years ago).
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