Did you get the new iPhone yet? What do you plan on doing with your old one? These are some questions that should be asked about any new electronics. Many company’s work to make the new great electronic device for the year, but this can lead to some serious environmental issues. When someone gets the new iPhone it is not uncommon for them to simply throw away the old one. The same can be said for many other goods such as video games, TVs, printers, etc. However, this leads to a huge amount of the old electronics piling up and many of them are difficult to recycle. Besides the issue of what to do with old electronics many of them contain hazardous materials that are dangerous to plants and wildlife. Then, as the old goods continue to pile up,
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To use them the electronics need electricity which can use a lot of resources depending on what it is. For instance a computer that is on 24/7 requires more energy than a printer which may be on only for a couple hours a day for the average user. In fact many electronics don’t have to be on to continue to draw electricity. Just by being plugged in and off many electronics continue to draw power which can account for fifteen percent of total energy ever used by these devices. As an example the average computer desktop will continue to use two point four watts per hour when turned off. Over the course of a year this can lead to huge amounts of resources being used when the device isn’t even being used. Some companies have created “smart strips” which are supposed to eliminate “phantom energy” by actually disconnecting unused devices from the circuit. This is one simple solution but a more beneficial one could be to include such a feature in all electronic devices. “This is not the only issue with the electronics though as many of them require large amounts of resources just to produce. In one case “a two gram microchip necessitates 1600 grams of petroleum, 72 grams of chemicals, 32,000 grams of water, and 700 grams of elemental gases” (Dartmouth). By looking at the requirements to make a two gram microchip it is obvious that it takes huge amounts of resources to produce them on …show more content…
They take up space that could be better used for other affairs. Not only do they take up space many contain hazardous materials that can negative effects on both the health of the environment and humans. Many countries have started recycling e-waste but they are usually questionable operations that can allow harmful materials into the ecosystem. However there have been regulations to help combat such practices and many legitimate recycling locations can be found. From recycling many precious metals and other materials can be recovered and used in new electronics such as copper, silver, gold and palladium. This can save resources for new and better electronics. Many electronics are being designed that are “greener” in a great number of ways compared to electronics from a decade ago. Hopefully these trends will continue to increase in popularity to create better and greener
To use them the electronics need electricity which can use a lot of resources depending on what it is. For instance a computer that is on 24/7 requires more energy than a printer which may be on only for a couple hours a day for the average user. In fact many electronics don’t have to be on to continue to draw electricity. Just by being plugged in and off many electronics continue to draw power which can account for fifteen percent of total energy ever used by these devices. As an example the average computer desktop will continue to use two point four watts per hour when turned off. Over the course of a year this can lead to huge amounts of resources being used when the device isn’t even being used. Some companies have created “smart strips” which are supposed to eliminate “phantom energy” by actually disconnecting unused devices from the circuit. This is one simple solution but a more beneficial one could be to include such a feature in all electronic devices. “This is not the only issue with the electronics though as many of them require large amounts of resources just to produce. In one case “a two gram microchip necessitates 1600 grams of petroleum, 72 grams of chemicals, 32,000 grams of water, and 700 grams of elemental gases” (Dartmouth). By looking at the requirements to make a two gram microchip it is obvious that it takes huge amounts of resources to produce them on …show more content…
They take up space that could be better used for other affairs. Not only do they take up space many contain hazardous materials that can negative effects on both the health of the environment and humans. Many countries have started recycling e-waste but they are usually questionable operations that can allow harmful materials into the ecosystem. However there have been regulations to help combat such practices and many legitimate recycling locations can be found. From recycling many precious metals and other materials can be recovered and used in new electronics such as copper, silver, gold and palladium. This can save resources for new and better electronics. Many electronics are being designed that are “greener” in a great number of ways compared to electronics from a decade ago. Hopefully these trends will continue to increase in popularity to create better and greener