When we buy something new, we get rid of what's old. That cycle of consumption has made electronics waste the world's fastest-growing solid-waste stream, which is expected to grow as the world upgrades to 5G.
While promising faster speeds and other benefits, 5G will result in a dramatic increase in e-waste. That's good business for ERI, which charges customers to collect their electronics and to securely wipe their data. But less than a quarter of U. S. electronic waste is recycled, the rest ending up as rubbish, posing environmental risks.
Part of the problem concerns regulation (法规). In states without laws banning electronics from the regular trash, electronics often end up in garbage and recycling bins. Even when e-waste rules exist, it's left to consumers to handle their old devices properly. But recycling them can be a pain. Rather than drop a used phone in a bin, lots of people have to take their electronics to a store, which may pay them for it or charge them to get rid of it. Many consumers simply throw their devices into the trash or throw them in a drawer.
One solution is to make electronics last as long as they once did. Yet, technology companies are speeding the pace of being deserted. "It's a strategy by producers to force us into shorter upgrade cycles," said Kyle Wiens, the founder of iFixit, which publishes do-it-yourself repair guides.
Some environmental groups say big companies like Apple and Samsung should pick up the cost of recycling the devices they sell. Lawmakers have passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, which require producers to establish and fund systems to recycle or collect abandoned products.
Some companies are increasing their recycling efforts on their own. For instance, Apple in 2018 introduced Daisy, a smartphone-recycling robot that can take apart 200 iPhones every hour. But that's a drop in the bucket compared with the 50 million tons of e-waste generated globally last year.
