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Yeah… In 2019, the world wasted more than 59.1 million tons of electronics. That's the equivalent of around 350 large cruise ships that are completely filled wi

Yeah… In 2019, the world wasted more than 59.1 million tons of electronics. That's the equivalent of around 350 large cruise ships that are completely filled with e-waste. Most of it used to be due to slow and/or bloated software, but more of it is now batteries. There’s also a bit of just poor manufacturing/design where a device was never good, and therefore as soon as its owner could get better he/she did get better. Edit: and let’s not forget the deprecation of older standards like 2G and 3G cell networks, or the rise of USB-C.

imiric 2y ago
Regarding batteries specifically, it should be illegal to produce any device without user-replaceable batteries. The EU is at the forefront of these initiatives[1], as usual, so hopefully this trickles out to other governments. Batteries in EVs are also a growing problem, for both production and disposal. Hopefully we'll have similar regulations there as well. [1]: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-battery-regulation-ecodesign-user-replacable-batteries https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-b...
- hbossy 2y ago
  Used batteries themselves are not that much of a problem, because most of their value is in raw minerals used to make them. Recycling them is basically the same as processing raw metal ore, except the concentration of valuable stuff is much higher than in any natural deposit.
  - reginald78 2y ago
    I think the goal here is to allow you to easily fix a device that only has a worn out battery, keeping it out of a landfill. The batteries could still be recycled and the process might be even easier if they were all user replaceable.
FredPret 2y ago
59 million tons is a cube 390m on a side, or a square pile 10m high and 2500m on a side. It’s a lot, but let’s not hyperventilate.
- phkahler 2y ago
  >> 59 million tons is a cube 390m on a side, or a square pile 10m high and 2500m on a side. It's also 118 pounds for every person on earth. That seems really high for e-waste.
  - Supermancho 2y ago
    Not to nitpick since it's still in the same magnitude, but I think it's more like 25.5 lbs 118,000,000,000 / 4,640,000,000 = 25.4310344828
    - phkahler 2y ago
      I thought there were 8B people which makes it even less. I need to turn in my brain card!

imiric 2y ago

Regarding batteries specifically, it should be illegal to produce any device without user-replaceable batteries. The EU is at the forefront of these initiatives[1], as usual, so hopefully this trickles out to other governments. Batteries in EVs are also a growing problem, for both production and disposal. Hopefully we'll have similar regulations there as well. [1]: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-battery-regulation-ecodesign-user-replacable-batteries https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-b...

hbossy 2y ago
Used batteries themselves are not that much of a problem, because most of their value is in raw minerals used to make them. Recycling them is basically the same as processing raw metal ore, except the concentration of valuable stuff is much higher than in any natural deposit.
- reginald78 2y ago
  I think the goal here is to allow you to easily fix a device that only has a worn out battery, keeping it out of a landfill. The batteries could still be recycled and the process might be even easier if they were all user replaceable.

FredPret 2y ago

59 million tons is a cube 390m on a side, or a square pile 10m high and 2500m on a side. It’s a lot, but let’s not hyperventilate.

phkahler 2y ago
>> 59 million tons is a cube 390m on a side, or a square pile 10m high and 2500m on a side. It's also 118 pounds for every person on earth. That seems really high for e-waste.
- Supermancho 2y ago
  Not to nitpick since it's still in the same magnitude, but I think it's more like 25.5 lbs 118,000,000,000 / 4,640,000,000 = 25.4310344828
  - phkahler 2y ago
    I thought there were 8B people which makes it even less. I need to turn in my brain card!