Reducing E-waste

E-waste is electronic equipment that has been thrown away. Reducing it means keeping devices in use for as long as possible, then recovering their materials safely, so that fewer new devices need to be made from freshly mined materials.

Reuse and repair

Reusing a device, by selling or donating it while it still works, keeping it as a backup machine, or using it for a single job such as playing music, keeps it working instead of being replaced. Buying refurbished equipment does the same: it is a working device sold on rather than scrapped. Because making a device uses a lot of raw materials and energy, every extra year of use means fewer new devices are needed.

Repairing a device when a single part fails, such as a worn cooling fan or a broken charging port, saves the rest of it from being scrapped. A repair usually costs less than a replacement and avoids the materials and energy of manufacturing a whole new product.

For example, a youth club's six games consoles start failing one by one. A local repair shop replaces the failed power supplies, so all six stay in use for three more years. When they finally give up, the club takes them to the council's e-waste collection point rather than the general skip.

Recycling properly

Once a device cannot be fixed, a proper e-waste recycling point, such as a council site or a shop take-back scheme, lets the materials be recovered and the harmful parts handled safely, so fewer new raw materials are needed. Devices left in the ordinary bin go to landfill, where substances can seep into soil and water, and informal recycling that burns parts to reach the metal releases toxic fumes.

Designed to last

Manufacturers can cut e-waste at the design stage. Devices that last longer, are easy to repair with ordinary tools, and allow upgrades such as extra memory avoid the need for a whole new machine, and using recycled materials reduces the demand for newly mined ones.