Green Your Network Blog

Most of us know by now that e-waste is a growing problem around the world. I’m not writing this blog post to be redundant, but rather, to illustrate the magnitude of the problem and drive home the necessity to respect the issue and start contributing towards the reversal of the current trend.

E-waste is Growing by 40 Million Tons a Year Globally

I know how popular it is to be “green,” but this problem goes way beyond being fashionable. Going “Green” is nowhere near enough to combat the seriousness of what’s become of our consumption culture.

Contributing towards a MORE environmentally friendly product over another option is nowhere enough. Sustainability is a holistic approach to your lifestyle and culture that considers the Entire life-cycle of a purchasing decision, from where the part originates, how it is transported, what by-products it produces, and most importantly what becomes of that part when it is discarded (those are just to name a few of the considerations). I want to highlight the last example here; that of the destiny of your discarded technology products.

Let’s focus now on one consumer product that most of use daily, the cell phone.

Here are a few poignant statistics about cell phones that came out of a recent study conducted by the UN’s Environmental Program:

• Consumers bought almost 900 million mobile phones in 2006 and over a billion in 2007
• The United States is the biggest produces at 3 million tons a year.
• China is producing 2.3 million, and by 2020, the amount of e-waste from dumped phones in China will be seven times larger than it was in 2007, and in India 18 times higher.

Due to lower environmental standards and working conditions in China, India, Kenya, and elsewhere, electronic waste like discarded cell phones are being sent to these countries for processing – in most cases illegally. The majority of defunct and junked e-waste ends up being broken down by ill-equipped laborers in hazardous conditions and in environmentally hazardous ways.

All that e-waste doesn’t just come from cell phones. By 2020, e-waste levels will have increased by more than 500%. So you can see, that buying “Green” may feel good, but it is not even close to where we need to be as a species to combat this growing giant of a problem.

The solution to this problem starts with spreading awareness. We need a commitment from the global community. This commitment needs to come from individuals as well as governments (with stricter legislation for manufacturers and consumers).We need to change our culture and habits with regards to being consumers. We should become more aware of the ENTIRE environmental impact of the products we consume. We should get used to the idea of extending the useful life-cycle of our products through buying and selling of pre-owned equipment. Most importantly, we should all make efforts to make sure we are disposing of our used electronics in sanctioned environmentally friendly ways.

There is one retailer who already understands this problem and is leading the charge towards reversing it. That retailer is Best Buy. They deserve an honorable mention here because they recently announced an ambitious plan to collect one billion pounds of e-waste over the next five years. The chain has collected over 140 million pounds of e-waste in the past year alone. Best Buy’s strategy to increase that number includes, in-store kiosks (now available in every location), online trade-in programs, and even home electronics pickup.

They have even gone so far as to erect a giant billboard in Times Square advertising this ambitious program. Plus, they already have the largest retail recycling program in the country. Now that’s what I call putting your money where your mouth is. Bravo best Buy!

I hope Best Buy recognizes huge dividends for their efforts, and let them be a great example to everyone of what is possible, and necessary in the coming decade.

See related articles here:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/united-nations-add-mobile-phones-to-the-world-e-waste-crisis.ars

http://www.fastcompany.com/1668383/best-buy-wants-to-collect-one-billion-pounds-of-e-waste-over-the-next-5-years

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By Joshua Levitt
Managing Director for UsedCisco.com