Electronic waste, or e-waste includes mobile phones, computers, televisions, audio equipment, printers etc.
The amount of electronic products discarded globally is 20-50 million tones every year. It now makes up 5 percent of all municipal solid waste worldwide. The average lifespan of computers in developed countries has dropped from six years in 1997 to just two years in 2005.
Mobile phones have a lifecycle of less than two years in developed countries.
What you can do…
Don’t replace your electronic equipment until you have to. When you do recycle it properly and replace it with a quality, energy efficient product. Check out Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics for tips and information about which companies offer greener options. (the latest version has Nokia and Sony Erisson leading the group)
The full Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics not only ranks the companies but gives a detailed, easy to understand overview of what the different companies are doing to make their products less toxic, more energy efficient.
Good Electronics is an international network focused on human rights and sustainability in electronics http://goodelectronics.org
