keeping a mobile phone in use for just one extra year cuts its lifetime CO2 impact by a third.
Kind: Quotes
89 per cent of mobile devices in the US were thrown into landfill in 2010, even though the resources they contain mean it is economically sensible to recycle them
Slowing the production cycle means making phones that last longer, which allows the resource and energy drain of each device to be spread over time. Extending lifespans is about designing more durable products, capable of being easily and inexpensively repaired or upgraded. It’s also about extending the lifespan of components, by harvesting parts from e-waste to reuse as spare parts or in new phones.
Design choices to extend product life include 1) material selection, i.e. whether the plastic or metal is non-virgin and is suitable for clean recycling, 2) accessible components, so that devices can be easily repaired and later disassembled, 3) availability of software updates, repair manuals, and spare parts.
Manufacturers should measure their innovation not by fewer millimeters and more megapixels, but by designing devices to last, by making them easily repairable and upgradeable, and using components and materials that can safely be reused again and again to make new phones.
Woah. What is this I don’t even
Alongside repair collectives, organizations working to address the culture of app obsolescence will play an important role in the future of repair culture.
e.g. grassroots organisations working on community-supported alternative OSs, and organisations curating lists of apps that still function on earlier versions of OSs.
426,000 discarded mobile devices a day in the United States.
Transformation of physical features of the technology to signify newness has become a standard practice in generating consumer interest and buying power.
This iPhone is nine years old; when considered in the larger scale of technological change, this is an incredibly short time span for the technology to become obsolete