Most of us rely on smartphones for a huge variety of everyday activities – messaging, navigating, reading the news and social media, just to name a few. Everyone from young teens to senior citizens have access to phones, and it’s become commonplace to rely on them for daily activities such as online shopping and banking too.
To meet demand, the tech industry has ramped up phone production, as well as working to increase the capability of these clever devices. Instead of keeping one phone until it stops working, many people replace their phone with the newest model every couple of years. This leaves a huge number of working devices sitting in boxes under the bed. But have you ever stopped to think about why this might be problematic?
This guide to smartphone pollution from Compare the Market explains that there’s an estimated 350kg of silver and 34kg of gold that could be recovered if we recycled one million smartphones – in fact, up to 80% of phone materials are able to be recycled. This just goes to show the collective impact we could all have if we made sure to correctly dispose of our phone at the end of their life.
Through the guide, you can also discover tips and tricks for reducing your smartphone usage, both for your mental wellbeing but also for your carbon footprint. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand their digital environmental impact, this piece will help you make small changes that are better for you and for the planet.
Author(s)
The Editorial Team - Compare the Market
Categories
Article, E&S Committee