E-waste will go down because of COVID, but for all the wrong reasons | Grist - 0 views
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Global sales of electronics and electrical equipment took a hit during the first three quarters of 2020, according to a U.N
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n recent years as more people in developing nations gain access to modern technology, product life cycles become shorter, and device repair becomes more difficult.
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High-income countries in North America and Europe, the researchers found, only saw a 5 percent dip in overall electronics sales.
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People living in lower income nations in the Global South, meanwhile, bought 30 percent fewer electronics overall, including fewer cell phones and laptops
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Tech Dump and others have also seen “a huge increase in the number of people coming in and dropping off electronics.”
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rebound effect in wealthier countries, where electronics sales were up significantly in the third quarter of 2020 compared with the first tw
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A pandemic-driven e-waste dip may give nations “a little bit of breathing space” to strengthen their recycling infrastructure, Baldé said. “But it’s not a lot of oxygen.
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This article touches on how Covid gave some relief of e-aste but not enough to make such a difference. Since many people were home during the pandemic, it was time enough for people to do some spring cleaning. Heavier electronic devices will reduce e waste production by 5.4 million tons but electronic sales grew at the end of last year. We wont really see the imapct of the pandemic right away but over time.