Your gadget attachments are getting in the way of recycling e-waste
>
Samsung recently published the findings of a survey it conducted into US users’ attitudes toward electronic waste (e-waste), and the results point to their reluctance to recycle.
It turns out that many people struggle to let go of their old devices and that contributes to an increasing amount of e-waste worldwide. This one information comes from the Green Print Survey (opens in new tab) that Samsung conducted together with global intelligence firm Morning Consult. They asked 2,210 people over the age of 18 what keeps them from being more environmentally friendly.
According to the survey, nearly 50 percent of respondents agree that e-waste is a major problem for the climate, but 72 percent do not recycle their devices. This raises two questions: what are people doing with that old technology and why aren’t they recycling?
tuck them away
Apparently people have put them away in different places around the house for safekeeping. 36 percent of people admitted to having a “designated e-waste junk drawer” where they store old electronics (that number goes up to 54 percent for young people who belong to Gen Z). Putting them in a box and towing them to the garage or attic is another popular method with 35 percent of the men surveyed.
The reason people don’t recycle is because they are so attached to their gadgets, or as Samsung puts it, they have “Digital FOMO” (fear of missing out). 24 percent of respondents said they were afraid of losing photos on old phones. 23 percent save devices in case something happens to the new ones. And if we look at the age groups, the older generations are more wary of leaking sensitive information.
A quarter of the oldest participants say they hold onto their e-waste because they think old devices still contain sensitive information and don’t want it to get out. That number drops to 8 percent for Gen Z respondents who appear to be more confident in software security. Younger generations also keep more frequently used devices to give as gifts later.
Recycling Recommendations
In addition to the research results, Samsung offered a variety of suggestions about what people can do with e-waste. The company recommends taking your e-waste to one of 1,700 recycling locations in the United States. You can find locations near your home by looking them up on Samsung’s Responsible Recycling webpage (opens in new tab) and click ‘Deliver today’.
It also recommends reusing Galaxy smartphones by: download the Smart Things app and use it at home as a baby monitor, for example. You can also try to repair devices yourself via Samsung’s self-repair program to extend their lifebut it’s limited to just a few smartphones like the Galaxy S20 and S21.
If you want to keep old photos, we highly recommend uploading them to a cloud storage service. TechRadar recently released its list of the best cloud storage sites for 2022, including Google Photos, OneDrive, and Flickr. Be sure to check it out.