How Can We Fix The Massive E-Waste Problem?

Summary

The script addresses the growing issue of electronic waste, highlighting the environmental impact of short-lived tech products like smartphones. It discusses the challenges in recycling, including the use of glue over screws and the toxic materials in e-waste. The speaker calls for longer-lasting devices, supports the Right to Repair movement, and praises companies like Apple for steps towards sustainability. The script also emphasizes the importance of responsible recycling and consumer behavior in mitigating the e-waste crisis.

Takeaways

• 📱 Old electronics, such as outdated tablets and smartphones, can accumulate over time, creating a significant amount of e-waste.
• 🌍 Tech companies, including Apple and Samsung, promote their products as environmentally responsible, but they continue to release new devices annually, contributing to the e-waste problem.
• 📉 The average lifespan of smartphones is decreasing, especially with the push for 5G, leading to more frequent upgrades and more e-waste.
• 🔋 The design of many modern electronics, like the use of glue instead of screws, makes them difficult to disassemble and recycle, reducing their overall sustainability.
• 🏭 The mining of raw materials for electronics is environmentally destructive, requiring large amounts of resources and sometimes releasing toxic substances.
• ♻️ Only about 15% of e-waste in the U.S. is properly recycled, with the rest often ending up in landfills, where hazardous materials can leach into the environment.
• 🔧 The Right to Repair movement advocates for consumers' ability to repair their own devices, challenging practices like proprietary screws and limited access to repair manuals.
• 🤝 While companies like Apple have made strides in improving the repairability of their products and supporting recycling initiatives, they still fall short in fully addressing the e-waste problem.
• 🔍 New methods, such as those developed by Ames Lab, are emerging to recover rare earth materials from e-waste more efficiently and sustainably.
• 💡 The best way for consumers to combat e-waste is by repairing devices when possible, reducing consumption, and recycling responsibly when devices reach the end of their lifespan.

Q & A

What types of old electronics were found during the speaker's recent move?

The speaker found an old iPad that won't update anymore, an LG G4 with a removable battery, a tablet from a Verizon promotional deal, and an iPhone 8 with a very cracked screen.

What did the speaker do with the old electronics?

The speaker put some items on OfferUp to give them a second life and took some stuff to Best Buy for e-waste recycling.

Why do tech companies claim to be environmentally responsible?

Tech companies claim to be environmentally responsible to appeal to consumers' eco-consciousness, as seen with Apple's claim that the iPhone 12 lineup comes without a charging block in the box, reducing carbon emissions.

What is the issue with tech companies releasing new phones every year?

The issue is that old phones end up in drawers, closets, boxes, or landfills, contributing to the e-waste problem despite companies' claims of environmental responsibility.

How many smartphones were sold in North America in 2019?

In 2019, nearly 153 million smartphones were sold in North America.

What is the problem with recycling old iPhones and similar devices?

The problem is that there is no technology to efficiently melt down, grind up, and remake new iPhones from old ones, and many devices are made with glue, making them hard to take apart and recover materials.

How much e-waste was produced in the U.S. in 2019, and how much was recycled?

In 2019, about 6.9 million metric tons of e-waste was produced in the U.S., with only about 15 percent collected for recycling.

What hazardous materials are contained in electronic waste that should be kept out of landfills and water bodies?

Hazardous materials like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and beryllium are contained in electronic waste and should be kept out of landfills, rivers, lakes, and from being dumped into emerging economies.

What is the Right to Repair movement, and why is it important?

The Right to Repair movement advocates for the availability of parts, tools, and information for consumers to repair their own devices. It's important because it promotes sustainability by extending the lifespan of products and reducing e-waste.

What is the significance of the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct?

The Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct is a set of social, environmental, and ethical industry standards that over 100 companies, including Samsung and Apple, have signed on to, aiming to ensure responsible practices in business operations.

What steps can consumers take to address the e-waste problem?

Consumers can fix their devices when possible, choose to buy refurbished ones, donate or sell old phones that still work, and recycle electronics at participating stores or through city collection services.

What is the current state of recycling rare earth elements and magnets from e-waste?

Recycling rare earth elements and magnets from e-waste is challenging due to the need for toxic chemicals and acids in the separation process. However, new processes like the one developed at the Ames Lab aim to separate these materials without environmentally destructive chemicals.

What is the role of companies like ERI in e-waste recycling?

Companies like ERI play a crucial role in e-waste recycling by receiving electronic devices, destroying all data, testing items for functionality, repairing or refurbishing them, and processing materials like steel, plastic, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, palladium, and lead for beneficial reuse.

What is the speaker's view on the future of e-waste management?

The speaker believes that we are moving towards a solution with the pieces of the puzzle already in place. They advocate for better repairability, more cooperation between electronic companies, consumers, and recyclers, and better retention of rare materials in the recycling process.

Outlines

00:00

📱 E-Waste Overload and the Environmental Impact

The script discusses the author's personal experience of discovering a plethora of outdated electronics during a move, including an old iPad, LG G4, a promotional tablet, and an iPhone 8. The author's attempt to repurpose or recycle these items highlights the broader issue of e-waste, particularly the rapid turnover of smartphones and tablets. Tech companies, while promoting environmental responsibility, continue to release new products annually, contributing to the e-waste problem. The script points out the impracticality of recycling old iPhones due to modern manufacturing methods that use glue instead of screws, making disassembly difficult. It also emphasizes the sheer volume of e-waste, with only a small percentage being recycled, and the presence of hazardous materials in electronic waste that need to be kept out of landfills and water systems. The author expresses frustration with the tech industry and calls for longer-lasting products to reduce e-waste.

05:02

🛠️ The Right to Repair and the Fight Against Planned Obsolescence

This paragraph delves into the concept of 'Right to Repair,' advocating for consumers' ability to access parts, tools, and information needed to fix their own devices. The movement challenges companies like Apple and Samsung, who are accused of planned obsolescence, intentionally making devices less durable or upgradable. The script mentions Apple's efforts to make some repairs more accessible, although still not consumer-friendly. It also touches on the broader implications of device repairability, including the environmental impact of mining raw materials for new devices and the need for federal regulation to enforce proper repair and recycling practices. The author encourages consumers to support Right to Repair legislation and to recycle their devices responsibly through programs like those offered by ERI.

10:04

♻️ Innovative Recycling Solutions for E-Waste

The script introduces various recycling efforts and innovations aimed at tackling the e-waste problem. It describes the process of recycling at facilities like ERI, where electronic devices are received, data is destroyed, and materials are tested and either refurbished or processed into commodities. The paragraph emphasizes the profitability and growth potential of responsible recycling businesses. It also discusses the challenges of recycling certain components like lithium-ion batteries and rare earth elements, which require special processes and can pose environmental risks. The script highlights a new process developed by Ikenna Nlebedim's team at the Ames Lab, which separates rare earth materials from e-waste without harmful chemicals. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for manufacturers to adopt more sustainable practices and for consumers to be more mindful of their electronic consumption.

15:07

🔄 The Future of E-Waste Management and Consumer Responsibility

In the final paragraph, the script reflects on the evolution of consumer electronics and the diminishing need for frequent upgrades, as newer models offer marginal improvements over their predecessors. It suggests that consumers consider refurbished devices as an alternative to new purchases and emphasizes the importance of proper recycling when devices are no longer functional. The script outlines steps for responsible e-waste disposal, including dropping off electronics at participating stores or utilizing city collection services. It calls for a collective effort from manufacturers, consumers, and recyclers to reduce e-waste, improve repairability, and retain rare materials in the recycling process. The author concludes with a personal commitment to repairing and buying only what is necessary, urging others to adopt similar responsible behaviors.

Keywords

💡E-waste

E-waste refers to electronic products that are discarded after becoming obsolete, broken, or no longer needed. It is a significant environmental concern due to the hazardous materials contained in these devices. In the script, the issue of e-waste is highlighted by discussing the recycling of old electronics like smartphones and tablets, which are often thrown away, contributing to environmental pollution and waste of valuable resources.

💡Recycling

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, and lower energy usage, making it a key theme in the video. The script mentions various recycling efforts for electronic waste, emphasizing the importance of proper recycling to prevent hazardous materials from ending up in landfills.

💡Right to Repair

The Right to Repair is a movement advocating for the availability of parts, tools, and information necessary for consumers to repair their own products. The script discusses this concept in the context of smartphones, suggesting that easier repairability could extend the life of devices and reduce e-waste by allowing consumers to fix their phones instead of discarding them.

💡Planned Obsolescence

Planned Obsolescence is a business strategy where products are designed to become obsolete quickly, either through wear or by becoming technologically outdated, prompting consumers to replace them. The script mentions this concept as a reason why devices become obsolete in a short timeframe, contributing to the e-waste problem.

💡Rare Earth Elements

Rare Earth Elements are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are vital in the production of many electronic devices. The script discusses the difficulty and environmental impact of recycling these elements from e-waste, highlighting the need for better recycling processes to recover these valuable materials.

💡Refurbished Devices

Refurbished devices are electronic products that have been repaired and restored to a like-new condition, often sold at a lower price than new devices. The script suggests considering refurbished devices as an alternative to buying new ones, which can help reduce the demand for new materials and the production of e-waste.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in the context of the script refers to the ability to maintain a certain process or state in a way that avoids depletion of resources and minimizes negative environmental impacts. It is linked to the discussion of how companies and consumers can work together to reduce e-waste and promote more environmentally friendly practices.

💡Carbon Emissions

Carbon emissions are the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, a significant contributor to climate change. The script mentions how changes made for the iPhone 12 have reduced carbon emissions, indicating the potential for technology companies to adopt more sustainable practices.

💡Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy derived from natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, and water. The script notes Apple's efforts to push suppliers to use renewable energy, which is crucial for reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing electronic devices.

💡Recyclable Materials

Recyclable materials are substances that can be processed and returned to the environment as useful products, reducing the need for raw materials and waste. The script discusses the types of materials that can be recycled from e-waste, such as steel, plastic, and precious metals, emphasizing the potential for more efficient recycling processes.

💡Legislation

Legislation refers to the process of making or enacting laws. The script suggests that federal regulation may be necessary to enforce better e-waste management practices, with examples of state legislatures evaluating the Right to Repair issue.

Highlights

Discovery of a large amount of old electronics during a move, including an outdated iPad, an LG G4, a promotional tablet, and a cracked iPhone 8.

Efforts to give old devices a second life through platforms like OfferUp and recycling e-waste at Best Buy.

Tech companies' claims of environmental responsibility contrast with the annual release of new phone models leading to e-waste.

Apple's iPhone 12 lineup's environmental impact reduction and the removal of charging blocks from packaging.

The physical impossibility of recycling old iPhones into new ones due to modern manufacturing methods.

The challenge of recycling smartphones and tablets, with glue making disassembly and material recovery difficult.

Staggering e-waste statistics, with 6.9 million metric tons produced in the U.S. in 2019 and a low recycling rate.

The presence of toxic materials like arsenic, cadmium, and lead in electronic waste, emphasizing the need for proper disposal.

The idea of creating phones that remain relevant for longer to reduce e-waste and the frustration with technology journalism.

The concept of 'Right to Repair' advocating for the availability of parts, tools, and information for consumers to fix their devices.

Critique of planned obsolescence in technology products and the difficulty of obtaining replacements for consumable parts.

Apple's and Samsung's repairability scores and the challenges of designing devices for easy consumer repair.

The push for renewable energy use in the production process by tech companies and the reality of fossil fuel reliance.

The Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct and the ongoing issue of device production and consumption.

The need for federal regulation to address the e-waste problem and the role of state legislatures in the 'Right to Repair' movement.

The process and benefits of recycling e-waste with companies like ERI, which recycle materials without sending them to landfills.

The complexities and environmental challenges of recycling components like lithium-ion batteries and rare earth elements.

Innovative processes for separating rare earth materials from e-waste without harmful chemicals, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The demand from tech companies for recycled materials and Apple's efforts to improve recyclability and use of recycled materials in new products.

The call for a commitment from tech companies to support customers throughout a product's lifecycle and the current shortcomings.

Suggestions for consumers to reduce e-waste by repairing, donating, or responsibly recycling old electronics.

The broader perspective on the need for a combination of solutions, including better repairability and cooperation to manage e-waste.

A final call to action for consumers and manufacturers to engage in responsible behavior regarding electronic waste.

Transcripts

My recent move unearthed a lot of old electronics that I forgot that I had;

an old iPad that won't update anymore, an LG G4 with a

removable battery, a tablet from a Verizon promotional deal – this was

free – and an iPhone 8 with a very cracked screen.

I put a lot of things on OfferUp to give them a second life.

I also took some stuff to Best Buy for e-waste recycling.

I just couldn't believe how much tech trash I really had, especially

things like phones and tablets.

It seems like every tech company is trying to sell their product as

environmentally responsible.

That's why Apple claims its latest iPhone 12 lineup comes without a

charging block in the box.

Taken all together, the changes we've made for iPhone 12 cut over two

million metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

But that doesn't stop these companies from coming out with a host of new

phones every year, and the old ones end up in the drawer or a closet or a

box or worse end up in landfills.

In 2019, nearly 153 million smartphones were sold in North America, and in

2018, users were keeping their phones for about two years, but that time

period is likely to drop as folks upgrade to 5G-capable phones.

We don't have the technology to take a truck full of old iPhones, melt them

down, grind them up and make new iPhones out of them.

It is flat out physically impossible.

No one can do it. Apple can't do it.

Samsung can't do it. No one can do it.

Many of them are no longer made with screws.

They're made with glue.

Glue makes things very hard to take apart and recover materials from

because it degrades the value of the commodity product itself.

So smartphones and tablets are challenging.

About 6.9 million metric tons of waste was produced in the U.S.

alone in 2019.

That's about the same weight as nineteen Empire State Buildings.

Of that, only about 15 percent was collected for recycling.

And some of those minerals and metals being thrown away with our waste

aren't just valuable, they're toxic.

All of the arsenic, cadmium, lead, beryllium and other hazardous materials

that are contained in electronic waste should be kept out of landfills,

should be kept out of rivers and lakes, and also should be kept from being

dumped into emerging economies such as China, India or Africa.

Creating a phone that stayed relevant for four to five years instead of one

to two years could make a huge difference.

I'm frustrated with the world of technology journalism.

Every review of every product with an integrated battery should say this

product will stop working in eighteen months.

Until phones are made to last much longer, how can companies like Apple,

Google and Samsung fix the e-waste problem, and what can we as consumers

do to help?

We've created a pretty big mess for ourselves when it comes to e-waste.

The world created 53.6 million metric tons of waste in 2019, an average of

about 16 pounds per person.

That number is estimated to increase almost 40 percent by 2030.

And this is waste like old smartphone's has gold, iron, lead, copper and

other rare and potentially hazardous materials.

In fact, the raw materials in the waste thrown away in 2019 comes to about

57 billion dollars.

Less than 18 percent of that, about 10 billion dollars was recycled

properly. Many, but not all landfills leach into the ground when they're

rained upon. It's that leaching process that eventually degrades our

environment, ecosystem, vegetation, animals and gets back into our human

population.

Just to make one device takes a huge amount of raw materials, and that

mining process can be harmful to the environment.

It takes over two hundred pounds of raw material to make a phone like

this. These are one of the most environmentally destructive things that we

make because of all the materials that go into it.

Mining often uses large quantities of water, acids, other toxic or

costly reagents, and all of that presents an environmental challenge to be

able to mine responsibly.

Some of those mines can even dig up radioactive waste during the mining

process. This is the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine outside of Las Vegas,

and it got shut down in the 1990s because they spilled radioactive waste

all over the valley floor outside of Las Vegas.

Over 100 companies, including Samsung and Apple, have signed on to the

Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct, which is a set of social,

environmental and ethical industry standards.

The problem is these companies keep making devices and we keep buying

them. In 2020, Apple released five new iPhones and Samsung released 15 new

phones. Apple reportedly sold about 196.2 million iPhones, and Samsung

sold about 296 million phones in 2019.

All told, an estimated 1.48 billion smartphones were sold worldwide in

2019. What do we do with these devices that whether they're new every two

or even obsolete every five, they do seem to become obsolete in a

relatively short timeframe.

In order to have a sustainable relationship with our technology, we have to

find a way to make only the products that we absolutely need and know

more. So once you've decided to part ways with your device, you could

throw it in a box like I used to do.

I don't recommend that.

But what if it's just a cracked screen or the battery runs out faster than

it used to? It should be easier to fix our phones.

That's where the Right to Repair movement comes in.

Right to Repair says, hey, if you're going to make a complex product, you

need to make parts, tools and information available to consumers.

Right? Farmers should have the right to fix their own tractors.

Consumers should have the right to fix their own iPhones.

Kyle Wiens started the popular repair site iFixit as a way to democratize

the process. Well, I was trying to fix my laptop and I couldn't find

information anywhere. I had dropped it on the power plug and it was a

little bit loose. And I learned that the repair manual had been online.

But Apple's lawyers had demanded that it be taken off the internet.

And that made me really mad.

Like, they have this information that could have made my life simpler and

they went out of their way to stop me from knowing how to work on my own

machine. Planned Obsolescence is the idea that a company strategically

slows down or otherwise makes it harder to use older devices.

Apple was just accused of this earlier in 2020.

Batteries are a consumable, they're a ware item and every manufacturer that

sells a product with a ware item should make replacements available.

You would not buy a car if the tires were welded to the car and there was

no way to change them.

Apple has made some changes over the years to make its phones more

repairable, like making some parts modular or using pull tabs instead of

glues for easy battery remove.

Unfortunately, Apple designs it for themselves to repair and not for

consumers to repair.

So they'll do things like put a proprietary screw on the bottom of the

phone that limits your access to it.

Luckily, companies like iFixit offer tools, guides and replacement parts

for phones, although Apple is not a huge fan of that.

There are certain battery and screen functions that only work if you get

your battery and screen replaced with Apple products by Apple certified

repair people. Many companies claim they want to repair products in-house

to maintain quality, and even Apple says it actually loses money in

repairs. Well, some of the things that Apple does is really compelling.

They're pushing their suppliers to use renewable energy is hugely

important. Most of the energy that goes into making this is fossil fuels

in China. It's mostly coal power making our phone.

But there are a lot of other things that Apple says, like they'll brag

about how much recycled material that they collect, that really is a red

herring. Apple has expanded its independent repair provider program to 140

businesses and 700 new locations, but it still believes that Apple

training is required for safe repairs.

As for Samsung, the world's second largest smartphone manufacturer, after

Huawei, its phones get even lower repairability scores than Apple from

iFixit's analysis.

We need to trust individuals to have some agency and not infantilize them

and say, oh, you could never turn a screwdriver.

I think that's just insulting.

And it might take federal regulation to truly force all involved to help

fix the problem.

Starting in January, you're going to see state legislatures across the

country from Massachusetts to California evaluating this issue.

And so if you're if you're interested, if you're passionate about it,

reach out to your legislator and tell them you support Right to Repair and

you'd like them to co-sponsor the bill.

If you can't fix your phone or donate it to someone who needs it, recycling

is a great option.

There were recyclers across the globe that process e-waste; GEEP in

Canada, Umicore in Belgium, and ERI, which processes an estimated five

percent of all e-waste recycled in the United States.

We got in it before there was an iPhone, before there was an iPad, before

Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize or an Academy Award for Inconvenient

Truth. In a nutshell, ERI receives electronic devices primarily from

consumers, businesses and original electronic manufacturers, or OEMs.

Consumers drop off their electronics at participating retail stores like

Best Buy and Staples, nonprofits like Salvation Army or at their local

solid waste authority.

Once the devices received, all of the data is destroyed, items are tested

for functionality, repaired, refurbished or processed into commodities

like steel, plastic, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, palladium and lead.

All of these materials that come out of ERI's facilities go to beneficial

reuse, like being made into new products and none go into landfills.

And Shegerian says they make a good business from this process.

We were profitable from the day we started.

17 years later we're still profitable.

And there's a lot of room for growth.

North America created 7.7 million metric tons of waste in 2019, and only

15 percent of that waste was documented to be collected and properly

recycled. All the materials that come out of it, the steel, the plastic,

the aluminum, the copper, the gold, the silver, the palladium, the lead is

all recyclable stuff, including the glass.

I mean, it all can go back for beneficial reuse.

None of this stuff ever had to go to landfill.

But this type of recycling isn't an option for every component in our

phones. Lithium ion batteries have to go through a special recycling

process and can be a fire hazard for recyclers.

Rare earth elements and magnets like the neodymium in our phone speakers

are harder to recycle, too, and many processes require toxic chemicals and

acids to separate materials.

If you are going to make one of rare earth elements, you should be ready to

produce almost 1.6 million gallons of waste gas that

contains hydrochloric acid.

And then you also think about the portion of that acid that goes into the

river and the sewage system, which was estimated to be near 53,000 gallons

for only one metric ton.

One option is to dismantle.

So which means you take this cellphone or the tablet and dismantle it and

then bring out the magnets.

But we all can agree that that's not efficient.

Ikenna Nlebedim's team has been working on a process to separate rare earth

materials from e-waste, like hard disk drives, electric motors and old

cell phones without the use of mineral acids or other environmentally

destructive chemicals that are used in other separation methods.

The process basically dissolves the rare earth containing materials in the

e-waste and leaves the rest to be collected and further recycled.

The recovered materials are more than 99 percent pure, and this process

can even recover cobalt when present, which isn't in demand element that

has been criticized for the way it's mined and sold.

The Ames Lab, where this process was developed, says it's ready to put it

into action and it has the support of the U.S.

Department of Energy to do so.

One thing about the process is that it works.

So if you give me a haptics drive today, I can give you the rare earth

content tomorrow or next or maybe in a week.

So what steps are being taken to minimize all of this e-waste?

When we got in the business approximately 17 or so years ago, there wasn't

a great call from the OEMs back then that we were involved with for our

plastics and metals to go back to them.

But now in 2020, the demand is huge.

Apple has dropped some recyclers who have unsustainable practices and

created robots to help disassemble and recycle about 1.2 million old

iPhones a year. For context, Apple reported 900 million active iPhones

worldwide at the end of 2018.

The iPhone 12 lineup uses 100 percent recycled rare earth materials and

its magnets, and the company's ultimate goal is to create a 100 percent

recycled iPhone.

They come in, they bring their engineers, they see our difficulties.

We're very unvarnished with them in terms of giving them feedback because

they want it. And the engineers that are developing new products that are

three to five years out are assessing what's problematic now, and they're

trying to work around that.

Recyclers and repairers say we can keep our phones out of landfills by

reducing our consumption, using recyclers like ERI and making sure new

processes like those from the Ames Lab get into the pipeline.

Even those flammable lithium ion batteries can find a new life with the

proper procedures.

Across the board, we need to see a commitment from these companies to

support their customers.

The customer centric thing to do is to support the product through its

entire lifecycle, not just during the warranty period.

And both Apple and Samsung are falling short on that.

I believe we're getting there.

I see the evolution moving there.

We're not there yet. I haven't seen yet myself a hundred percent cellphone

made out of recycled material.

Same with a tablet or even a printer yet.

But I think they're moving there.

Recycling is a great option, but there's so much more that needs to be done

by the manufacturers to stop the e-waste problem.

Phones aren't getting that much better anymore.

It used to be back when you went from the 3 to the 4, it was a huge

technological leap, and maybe there was a reason to upgrade regularly.

But now, I mean, I couldn't really tell you the differences between the 10

and the 12.

If your phone is beyond repair, think about a refurbished one.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests you give away or sell or

donate any old phones that might still work.

If there's no hope for repair, recycle it at a participating store like

Best Buy or Staples, or your city might offer a collection service where

it will head to companies like ERI to be recycled.

Millions of people a year go into Best Buy and Staples and drop off their

old electronics, which is wonderful because again, all the stakeholders

are getting involved. But also I think it's about buying less, like how

can we how can we do more with less?

Recycling itself can be hard on the environment and dangerous because

electronics have to be dismantled to separate batteries and rare earth

metals. But a combination of solutions might be the answer to keeping

phones and other tech trash out of landfills.

Better repairability more cooperation between electronic companies,

consumers and recyclers, and better retention of rare materials in the

recycling process.

We're not too far away from the solution.

The pieces of the puzzle, they exist.

Just put them together.

Since we already have the know-how on how to responsibly recycle our old

electronics, shame on us if we don't engage in that good and responsible

behavior. The best thing that we as consumers can do is fix the stuff we

have and only buy exactly what we need.

That's what I'm going to do from now on.

I don't even know where these came from...