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Sunday, April 12, 2015

E-Waste: Is there Hope?

By Zachary Cope
We live in a ever developing technological world, and with this comes waste. Each year a new product is created to replace the previous model. As consumers we wait in line to get on our hands on the next best thing. We leave our used outdated phones in a drawer, hoping to never see them again. Many times the new cell phones you are buying are just slightly better with a few new features. In many ways most of your old phones are still very functioning and going to waste.
It seems today manufacturers primary goal are to produce as much as they can, with little concern to where all these products end up. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency ) in 2010 cell phone waste in the United was totaled at 19,500 tons with 17,200 tons being trashed and only 2,240 tons being recycled. With such a high number being trashed, and such a small percent of that being recycled surely something must be done.

Roughly around two years ago a company came up with an idea, an idea that could change the phone industry for the better. The idea is simple, since most times when a phone breaks it is usually one component that fails. With this idea in mind Phonebloks was created, a phone that you could build upon itself. If a component breaks on your phone no need to buy a new one, just replace that component and continue on with your day. This idea if developed could alter the amount of waste produced by cell phones in the coming years. It is a simple clean platform that would make this process easy to use for all.

If you would like to learn more about Phonebloks or Recycle programs for your E-Waste, links below.




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