My Relationship to Techno Trash and How We Can Minimize E-waste

My Relationship to Techno Trash and How We Can Minimize E-waste

Technology has developed to a point where anyone without access to electronics seems obsolete. Smartphones, computers, tablets, and televisions all transport people to a global level of connectivity and awareness. With this accessibility, people still need to question the construction of their electronics and the disposal process when new products hit the market. I am constantly using my iPhone and laptop to update myself and my peers on what is happening in the world. Although I try to minimize my technology use so I can stay grounded with human interactions, I utilize my iPhone and laptop many times each day for school work, social networking, news updates, organizing, and communicating with people in my life.

The laptop I use currently was a birthday present from my father for my 18th birthday. I am very fortunate that my parents have purchased phone after phone along with almost all of my electronics. I had a MacBook pro for four years but felt it was time to upgrade for college and hopefully graduate school. My previous laptop still functioned, but a virus filled my storage and made my computer difficult to navigate. I had taken it to the Apple store multiple times, but with each reboot, they tried to sell me a new laptop claiming that after about two years, technology changes too much and it is easier to just buy a new computer. This statement does not acknowledge the privilege that comes with purchasing a computer that is over $1,000. With time and discussion, my parents and I decided that purchasing a new device for a new phase in my life was rational. My father and I researched and selected the 13-inch retina MacBook Pro because of the memory, speed, screen display, and battery life.

I do not have a consistent time frame or plan for when I will replace my laptop. The situation is more dependent on how well the laptop functions, but I would say it can range from three to six years even though Apple attempts to design their technologies to last for a shorter period of time. Lack of functioning in my old technology and improved speed and applications on newer forms of technology will be the reasons I replace my laptop. My old laptop is still in my closet at home because it is still mildly functional. Also, I have documents from my high school career that I may need again, but I know I will never use the device as primary source. I should recycle this device through an Apple store or technology redistribution center. All my other phones and laptops I have either returned for money, given to other people for them to use, or brought to a technology return facility.

Even though I try to be thoughtful about my disposal actions, I am still consuming large amounts of physical resources and digital storage (which needs more physical space and materials). I feel a constant pull toward disconnecting from social medias and electronics use. I try not to consume more than I need to, but I also use televisions, video game consoles, projectors, calculators, and many other technological communication devices. I feel I do a morally conscious job of minimizing how often I purchase new electronics and create a higher demand for them. I also believe my electronic footprint is lower than the average American. Other members of my extended family have individual speaker systems and tablets for everyone in the household along with many different data heavy accounts. I am convinced that most of my family members are unaware of the impacts they have on the environment through their demand for bandwidth and technology. That sounds condescending, but I believe this because before two weeks ago I had no idea either.

Many people living in developed countries consume media and electronics daily without an understanding of the greater impact on the environment. In “Facebook Data Storage Centers as the Archive’s Underbelly,” Mél Hogan explores the questions that most of the approximately one billion users do not ask about the social media platform: The fact that the essence of Facebook exists in undisclosed and highly protected storage centers only heightens the idea that this distance between users and the data they generate,” explaining that consumers of this data storage must work extremely hard to find the information about their environmental footprint in relation to technology usage (Hogan, 9). Scholars, activists, and scientist have all been working to disclose the secrets and deceit that lie within the actions of large technology companies.

Sabine LeBel, another scholar, also addresses the ways that companies release product to the market to supposedly help improve society to a new level of existence that separates humans from other non-human animals in the journal article, “Wasting the Future: The Technological Sublime, Communications Technologies, and E-waste.” LeBel claims that E-waste is rapidly becoming the largest form of waste, and turns to recycling as a solution (LeBel, 11-12). However, I have found in my attempt to recycle technology that companies are much more interested in the ease of disposing of old electronics. Whenever I have attempted to recycle older computers, printers, or other machines, the recycling firms have charged a fee.

Newer technologies (iPhone, Androids, or more current computers) seem to be easier to recycle, but lack of knowledge still exists. I believe that the current problem facing the environmental impacts of technology is manipulation of companies to increase consumerism and a lack of ability or understanding of why and how to properly dispose of E-waste. As with most environmental issues, the first step to combatting environmental damages is through communication and accountability. I would like to hold myself more accountable to the technology I consume and my techno footprint. Now that I have developed an understanding of the ways that companies capitalize on consumers, I can conduct additional research and inform people about how their technology usage influences the environment. I am also more conscious of what electronics I consume and the intentions of the companies that produce them. I would like to reduce my purchases and use of new electronics unless I feel it is necessary and I can offset the demand of new technology that I create. When I think of my past birthdays and gifts, I will no longer think of shiny new gadgets and upgrades, but instead, I will think of the trail of techno trash I will leave behind. It all started on my 12th birthday when my dad bought me my first mobile phone. Since then, I have received gift after gift that now sits in landfills helping promote environmental degradation through the fastest growing source of waste.

#ewaste #sustainable #opinion #sustainability #awareness #technotrash