Bit by Bit Life

The Dark Side of Our Devices Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest-growing waste types on the planet. In 2022, 62 million tonnes of e-waste were produced on Earth (approximately 7.8 kg per person), but only 22% of that e-waste was collected for recycling. If nothing changes, that total of e-waste could reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, causing the devices that support our lives to present as an increasing environmental and public health issue. Image: The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 What makes e-waste dangerous lies within our devices: the toxic materials contained within our tablets, cell phones, and computers. Heavy metals (like lead, mercury, cadmium) and flame retardants, along with other persistent organic pollutants, are present in our technology. These materials release poisonous gases into the air and leach into the soil and water tables during burning and informal disassembly. When burnt, plastics can generate dioxins and other cancer-causing agents, just as exposure ...

I was around seven years old when I first used a computer; it was a Dell Inspiron N5030. My family had just acquired it, and it opened my eyes to the new world of technology. The computer was more than just a machine; it was our connection to the world. Most of the time, we only used it to Skype our aunts and uncles who had gone abroad, but every time we would see their faces, even if the video was a bit fuzzy, it felt like we were physically connected despite the distance.  I also remember how unique the internet was then. In an era of easy Wi-Fi, back then, we would insert a device that looked like a flash drive in order to connect to the internet. It was always slow, at times awful, but we felt like we were in the future, like we finally had access to the wider world. With time, our first computer slowed down bit by bit,  but it never truly stopped working for us. We bought newer laptops into our house, and yet I was still shocked to see its performance and stability relati...