What is E-Waste? A Guide to Fixing It.
If you're looking for ways to get involved with reducing e-waste but aren't sure where to start, we've got some ideas here!
E-waste is a hot topic in the world of waste management, as more and more goods are being produced every year.
According to HSE, in the UK alone, it's estimated that over two million tons of e-waste are generated each year; most likely your town has its own e-waste recycling program in place to handle it.
What is E-Waste?
E-waste, also known as electronic waste or e-trash, is any piece of technology that has reached its end of life. This includes anything from old computers and cellphones to outdated printers and televisions—any piece of tech that you can't use anymore.
Unlike regular household waste, which can be recycled or repurposed into something else (like paper), e-waste contains toxic materials like lead and mercury that need to be disposed of properly to protect people and the environment.
Why Does it Matter?
E-waste is a serious problem. It contains toxic materials, which can harm the environment, people who handle it, and even those who come into contact with it.
The first step to solving any problem is acknowledging that there is one in the first place. If you're reading this article then chances are you already understand how bad e-waste is for our planet — but why should we care? Here are four reasons why we should all be concerned:
It's Dangerous to People
When people think of trash they think of a bunch of old newspapers and empty cans thrown away by someone else; they don't always realize that they themselves may be throwing away hazardous materials every day without realizing it.
Because most e-waste items are made up of plastics, metals and other heavy materials, many contain dangerous toxins like lead or mercury which can cause cancer if ingested or inhaled over long periods of time (think: burning batteries).
These toxic elements also have an adverse effect on aquatic life as well as soil fertility when leaked into waterways from landfills where e-waste goes after being discarded by consumers in their households or businesses.
How Does it Impact the Environment?
E-waste is a major source of pollution, and it's becoming more prevalent every year. It causes damage to the environment in many ways.
First, e-waste can leach heavy metals into soil and water when it breaks down or is improperly disposed of. These toxic chemicals cause serious health problems such as cancer, kidney failure, and birth defects in humans who come into contact with them.
Second, the disposal of e-waste leaves a large carbon footprint because it requires energy to produce new goods from recycled materials—a process known as upcycling.
Finally, most electronic products contain plastics which take hundreds of years to break down in landfills—another reason why recycling electronics is better for the environment than dumping them in garbage dumps!
How Can We Fix It?
The best way to fix e-waste is to prevent it in the first place. Here are some simple steps you can take:
Use, reuse, and repair—and reuse again!
It's generally better for the environment and cheaper too. If you have an old laptop that works well but needs a new battery, don't buy a new one; go out and get it fixed instead.
The same goes for your phone or tablet—even if they're not broken yet, there's probably something wrong with them that can be easily fixed by someone who knows what they're doing (or at least knows where to find help).
Don't throw away old tech!
This includes phones and tablets as well as computers because even if they aren't working anymore, there might be parts that could still be useful in making other devices work better than ever before (again).
Consider donating them somewhere like Goodwill instead of throwing them into landfills where harmful chemicals can leach into groundwater systems near residential neighborhoods—which could potentially lead to serious health issues down the road like cancers caused by exposure to radiation from cellphones and other devices over time!
Taking care of your gadgets
Take care of your battery.
When it comes to e-waste, batteries are often the most toxic component. There are some things you can do to prolong the life of your mobile battery. Here are some tips:
1. Keep your phone turned off when not in use. When you're not using your smartphone, turn it off. If you can't turn it off, at least put it in airplane mode and switch off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.
2. Don't leave apps running in the background. If you have an app that continuously runs in the background and uses up CPU resources, then this drains battery life very quickly. Close all unnecessary apps running in the background so as not to waste precious battery power.
3. Don't use auto-brightness feature on your device if possible because it uses up more battery than manually adjusting brightness levels yourself. Instead, adjust brightness levels manually according to conditions around you such as whether you're indoors or outdoors or whether it's night or day time etc...
4. Use a charging case or external battery charger with any smartphone that doesn't have enough power left on its own to last through the day (like many smartphones nowadays). This will help you recharge much faster than just plugging into a wall outlet without one of these accessories attached to.
Never throw your phone because of low memory
1. Delete unwanted apps. The more apps you have, the more space they take. If an app isn't useful or you don't need it any more, delete it. You can always reinstall it later if needed.
2. Uninstall unused apps. If you've downloaded a few apps that you no longer use, remove them from your device by uninstalling them. You can find these in your App Store or Google Play Store account.
3. Clear up space after downloading media files. When downloading a video or music file, make sure to clear up space once the download is complete by deleting the file from your device.
4. Reduce screen resolution and quality of images/videos/movies to save storage space on your mobile device! Use video compressor to compress any types of videos without losing it’s quality. This is the best ways to keep your unforgettable videos instead of deleting them. MP4 compressor will the best example to save your files without taking too much space.
E-waste is a major problem that needs to be addressed. While it might seem like an easy fix, we need to do more than just recycle our electronics. We also need to think about how they’re
made and where they come from, so that we can truly protect the environment and ourselves.
Guide provided by Veed