Don't Treat Old Gadgets Like Garbage

Did you get a new tablet or computer this holiday season? A new smart phone? Maybe a new TV?

Here's a question to tell if you're naughty or nice.

What will you do with the old one?

Most people just throw old gadgets away.

That's how nearly 50 million metric tons of so-called e-waste were produced in 2012—the weight of 150 Empire State Buildings.

By 2017, that flood of e-waste will grow to more than 65 million metric tons—or 11 Great Pyramids worth.

That's according to a study from researchers at the UN, EPA and elsewhere.

EPA 环境保护局（=Environmental Protection Agency）
an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment

Improper disposal of e-waste has led to some of the world's most toxic hotspots.

It's also a waste of resources, like valuable rare earth metals.

China produces the most total e-waste.

But we Americans hold the title for biggest individual gadget lovers—and wasters.

We produced an average of roughly 30 kilograms of e-waste per person in 2012.

Impressive, given how light our gizmos are.

A gizmo is a device or small machine which performs a particular task, usually in a new and efficient way. People often use gizmo to refer to a device or machine when they do not know what it is really called.

Reuse and recycling is the obvious answer.

Good options exist, including some offered by gadget makers themselves, like Apple.

But be careful. Some unscrupulous recyclers here in the U.S. simply dump the trashed gadgets overseas.

unscrupulous adj. 不诚实的；不道德的；无道德原则的 / If you describe a person as unscrupulous, you are critical of the fact that they are prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way in order to get what they want.

And that's no gift.

---

本文节选自《60-Second Science American》