Do Electronic Gadgets Have an Afterlife?

Just when I thought that Research In Motion was finally getting its act together at last month’s BlackBerry World 2012 convention, along came Apple and all the wonderful futureness it brought at the recently concluded World Wide Developers Convention (WWDC) 2012. While RIM’s presentation of the BlackBerry 10 mobile OS was encouraging enough at the time to give a bit of hope for the company’s resurgence, Apple’s iOS 6 decidedly left the competition in the dust, giving one more reason why gadget users should just consider selling used BlackBerrys and switching to the iPhone.

The thing about this was that RIM’s heart was undoubtedly in it this time. Company CEO Thorsten Heins reiterated time and again that they pulled out all the stops to ensure that the BB 10 would become their saving grace, and it showed at BlackBerry World. Nevertheless, it just wasn’t enough to put a stop to the juggernaut that is Apple’s iOS 6. More and more, it seems that the BlackBerry will be going the way of the dodo sooner rather than later.

And where do extinct electronics go? Barring speculations about some sort of afterlife for the inanimate (just don’t tell Siri about that “inanimate” bit), the obvious answer would be that they’d end up overrunning landfills. While the thought of Berrys just wasting away and taking up room in dumpsites is already enough to drive a planeteer bonkers, there’s actually more to it than that; something far more dreadful.

Discarded electronics certainly are hazards to the environment because not only do they pile on the plastics and silicon (both already notoriously hard to recycle in their own right), but they also contain harmful chemicals like lead, cadmium, beryllium, and others which can leak from batteries, capacitors, and other electronic parts. The combination of these chemicals with the expected solid waste that comes with electronics has given birth to a new kind of pollution: E-waste.

Of course, one viable solution would be to sell used BlackBerrys. While practical, e-recycling is definitely a better option because it goes one step further. In fact, e-recycling was set up specifically to combat e-waste.

0Simply stated, e-recycling is the refurbishing and reselling of old and used electronic devices to prolong their lifespan and keep them from filling up landfills for as long as possible, while giving consumers more bang for their buck. It is also the disposing of unusable parts under the strictest green standards to minimize the harmful effects on the environment. The combination of these elements is what gives e-recycling its distinct identity.

We have been given glimpses of an exciting future by every media outlet we come in contact with; stuff which would make us drool at the very thought of it. What isn’t nearly as exposed, though, are the ramifications of what such technologies bring. Apple has been bringing us closer to the future for a while now. However, while not directly causing it, they are nonetheless instrumental in creating a negative impact of advanced technology, that impact being e-pollution. If not for counter-developments like e-recycling, the future wouldn’t be as bright and shiny as how some Hollywood movies would have you believe. Think about that before you go selling BlackBerrys on eBay or something. Head on over to an e-recycling center instead. You’ll be glad you did.

Source:

http://technogoblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/do-electronic-gadgets-have-an-afterlife/