The Badger recently helped move someone to a new house. Moving not only forces the emptying of cupboards to reveal what’s stored away and forgotten about, but also decisions on what to keep, dispose of, recycle or give to charity. The move went smoothly, and emptying cupboards filled a number of boxes with old hoarded tech, cables, mobile phones, and so on.
The move coincided with media coverage of a Royal Society of Chemistry study that revealed consumers have millions of old gadgets stockpiled in drawers at home which, apparently, isn’t helping the growing shortage of some of the elements used in today’s smartphones and tech. The Badger’s interest was piqued, and – with the owner’s permission – a rummage through the boxes of discarded devices crystallized three thoughts.
First, if these boxes are typical, then to think that consumers have ~10 unused devices and cables stockpiled in their homes is an underestimate! The boxes contained many old cables, mobile phones, chargers, keyboards, mice, digital cameras, pocket PCs and PDAs, MP3 & CD/DVD players, handheld electronic games, console handsets, old eBook readers and much more. Anyone of the Badger’s generation or younger will have similar things hoarded in the dusty corners of their homes!
Second, most of the hoarded devices still work! For example, a Compaq IPAQ Pocket PC from 2001 running Microsoft Pocket PC fired into life like new when connected to its mains charger, and its 18-year-old software provides email, contacts, diary, internet browsing, Word, Excel, etc, much like today’s devices. Technology has, of course, improved since 2001 seeing these old devices still working makes you realise that clever marketing makes us adopt ‘the next piece of tech wizardry’ way before its necessary. These old devices still have some functional as well as recycled precious metal value.
Third, if discarded personal devices still work then they are useful to someone else. Yes, parents sometimes pass old phones to their kids, but why do we ultimately hoard devices rather than pass them onto other relatives, friends or charities? In the world of personal tech we need to be more aware of the RSC study’s findings and their Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message.
A few days after the move, the Badger watched a TV programme about environment activists. One of the interviewees said very preachy things that grated because they too will have discarded cables, tech and phones at home! The Badger has concluded that we consumers – and environment activists – need more awareness of the shortage of the precious elements in our tech and smartphones. Some elements could be exhausted within decades, and if we don’t promptly recycle our discarded personal tech the number of forthcoming robots we can build might be constrained. Hmm. On second thoughts, perhaps the Badger will put his old Blackberries at the back of a dusty cupboard after all…
