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The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

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Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#21

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

sliken wrote: post #5

Seems like the easiest fix would be to mandate the same charging cable for all phones (no dongles) and user replaceable batteries that require no tools to change. With those two simple tweaks it would be much easier to keep a phone for 3 or more years. My google pixel seems like it could easily last for many years with it's quad core, 128GB storage, 4GB ram, and 2560x1440 display. Lets be honest, for most uses that's…

> Seems like the easiest fix would be to mandate the same charging cable for all phones (no dongles) and user replaceable batteries that require no tools to change.

Never gonna happen, because Apple would make less money then. Why should they allow such a law to be passed?

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#22

Post by mehrdadn »

icebraining wrote: post #13
mehrdadn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recycling just isn't a substitute; it's far less effective. You're supposed to reduce, reuse, and then , if neither is possible, recycle... in that order.

Recycling a phone can mean reusing many of its components for repairing other phones (as part of the fourth R: refurbishing).

Do you know of any place I could recycle an old phone that would give some kind of assurance (even a pinkie promise... but preferably some kind of statistic) that this would actually happen? Would love some recommendations because I don't know of any.

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#23

Post by pizza234 »

Vinnl wrote: post #16
xbmcuser wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chinese smartphone sales have dropped dramatically this year. Mostly as smartphones have reached a point where upgrading cost vs return is no longer worth it for many. I really wanted Googles modular phone to be a successful but it died very quickly even before release otherwise that would have been a great way to upgrade parts without disposing old phones and creating waste.

If you think that's a shame, do check out Fairphone [0]. It's not completely modular, but it's trivial to replace the battery, screen and camera's without tools. See also their spare parts shop [1], all of which you can replace by yourself. [0] https://www.fairphone.com [1] https://shop.fairphone.com/en/spare-parts/?ref=header

The Fairphone is a great idea, however, the software support plan, which is crucial for a long-term device, is vague [⁰].

I wonder if there is a realistic plan for such devices; I'm not sure a subscription plan would work - would non-technically minded people pay?

[⁰] https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/205504175-Wh...

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#24

Post by icebraining »

mehrdadn wrote: post #22
icebraining wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recycling a phone can mean reusing many of its components for repairing other phones (as part of the fourth R: refurbishing).

Do you know of any place I could recycle an old phone that would give some kind of assurance (even a pinkie promise... but preferably some kind of statistic) that this would actually happen? Would love some recommendations because I don't know of any.

I'm not from the US, but ecoATM claims they refurbish most and recycle responsibly the rest: https://www.ecoatm.com

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#25

Post by mehrdadn »

icebraining wrote: post #24
mehrdadn wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know of any place I could recycle an old phone that would give some kind of assurance (even a pinkie promise... but preferably some kind of statistic) that this would actually happen? Would love some recommendations because I don't know of any.

I'm not from the US, but ecoATM claims they refurbish most and recycle responsibly the rest: https://www.ecoatm.com

Wow thanks, I'll check it out!!

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#26

Post by icebraining »

adrianN wrote: post #20
icebraining wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recycling a phone can mean reusing many of its components for repairing other phones (as part of the fourth R: refurbishing).

In reality recycling a phone means shipping it to some poor country where it is burned in an open fire to recover some of the metals. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/burning-truth-...

From your link: "85 percent of the e-waste dumped in Ghana and other parts of West Africa is produced in Ghana and West Africa. (...) In other words, Agbogbloshie is not a global dumping ground. Like most places on Earth, it’s struggling to deal with what it generates on its own."

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#28

Post by bradfa »

dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #21
sliken wrote: post #5

Seems like the easiest fix would be to mandate the same charging cable for all phones (no dongles) and user replaceable batteries that require no tools to change. With those two simple tweaks it would be much easier to keep a phone for 3 or more years. My google pixel seems like it could easily last for many years with it's quad core, 128GB storage, 4GB ram, and 2560x1440 display. Lets be honest, for most uses that's…

> Seems like the easiest fix would be to mandate the same charging cable for all phones (no dongles) and user replaceable batteries that require no tools to change. Never gonna happen, because Apple would make less money then. Why should they allow such a law to be passed?

The EU already has previously published an initiative, which was voluntary but which many phone manufacturers did end up getting on board with, regarding using micro USB connectors for charging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_external_power_supply

I think that with USB power delivery and USB type C connectors, we could see a similar move again (or an update?) from the EU or another larger government (China?).

Getting user replaceable batteries, or at least more phones with this option even if it's not mandated by regulation, may come about from some of the "right to repair" legislation which is starting to take shape in the USA. I'm sure the EU has a similar (existing?) set of regulations in the works. I can't see a mandate of everyone having to use the same exact battery or tool-less requirements but I could see a mandate happening that a battery has to be able to be replaceable by a 3rd party service center and the OEM must sell battery replacement kits and instructions for a reasonable cost to 3rd parties for X years after a phone goes on the market. This wouldn't kill Apple, Apple is already replacing iPhone batteries with Apple provided parts using Apple technicians for only $29 in 2018: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#29

Post by exodust »

brolover wrote: post #19
samcheng wrote: post #4

The math is pretty poor in this article. Information and Communication Tech represents only 3% of global carbon emissions, and most of that is from giant server farms. This other article states that the embodied CO2 in a cellphone is roughly equivalent to 1kg of beef. That's like three steaks. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/20... The bigger emissions problems around electricity generation a…

Exactly. The amount of energy spent on heating and cooling is huge. Then it's transportation and agriculture. Then somewhere far behind is the whole Internet and efficient electronic devices. I use the same argument when it comes to bitcoin. That stuff is so tiny in our profiler. Sane thing to do is to optimize the slowest functions.

> efficient electronic devices

When hardware has a two year average life cycle, the environment is not benefiting from any of the hardware's efficient characteristics. You seem happy with your new phone though, I guess that's the main thing.

Re: The environmental impact of technology devices is getting worse

#30

Post by exodust »

simonh wrote: post #10
Lafcadio wrote: post #3

I would love to be able to just buy a new phone battery and keep mw phone going longer. But I do not want to have to go through a complex taking apart process that may result in destroying it.

Plenty of manufacturers offer battery upgrade programmes, the one form Apple is even reasonably affordable these days. Plus there are third party upgraders that will do it for you for popular models. You do need to bear this requirement in mind when buying though.

Phone manufacturers should be forced to provide free battery replacement on all their phones. Otherwise they should make it a simple process for consumers to swap the battery out.

I still have a Samsung S5 phone with removable battery, had it for years. I don't know if there's phones on the market with replaceable batteries, I have not bothered looking for a new phone.

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