The World’s E-Waste Has Reached a Crisis Point
The World’s E-Waste Has Reached a Crisis Point
A new UN report finds that humanity is generating 137 billion pounds of TVs, smartphones, and other e-waste a year—and recycling less than a quarter of it.
You're viewing a single thread.
People living in high-income countries own, on average, 109 EEE devices per capita
What the fuck?!?
I'm guessing childless adults are significantly less than that. Just thinking about my kids and all of their book readers, barking animal toys, light-up fairy wands, I have a bad feeling they may be bringing up that average.
Though the nice thing about kids' electronics is they never get obsoleted. A light-up fairy wand is just as fun in 2074 as it is in 2024. So they just get cycled through the 2nd hand mommy communities until they break. It was $40 new, you buy it "mostly undamaged" for $20, hope your kid doesn't scratch it too badly so you can sell it a couple years down the line for $10 or so.
The bad thing about kids' electronics is it's that for new stuff, it's really impossible to tell how long it's going to last. Could be 20 years, could be 20 minutes.