3 ms·
it’s not nothing at all. it’s a lot, especially considering the complexity of the materials used. what’s in a battery? 3 or 4 different materials that we’re wel
by permo-w 4y ago
it’s not nothing at all. it’s a lot, especially considering the complexity of the materials used. what’s in a battery? 3 or 4 different materials that we’re well set up to recycle?
this isn’t the issue of where to dispose these phones, it’s the issue of where the materials are coming from in the first place, and how allowing unfettered market forces to roam free (the most blatant illustration being planned obsolescence) creates huge externalities, nicely encapsulated by the example of 5 billion phones being thrown out in a year
- Retric 4y agoOnly 1.75 billion phones where sold in 2020 and 17% of ewaste is recycled. Also batteries are a lot more complicated than you suggest. Just consider all the different chemicals used to create a logo on the side.
- permo-w 4y agothey’re still significantly less complex and far more uniform than phones. this added to the fact that they’ve also been around longer means we’re much better set up to recycle them
- Retric 4y agoPhones are vastly more likely to actually be recycled than AA batteries which mostly just get thrown away. The ideal model is actually car lead acid batteries which have very close to 100% recycling rate in the US. Granted people more often lose their phones than their cars but it still shows what’s possible.