Black Friday exacerbates e-waste issues
Wednesday, November 25, 2015 - 12:21:05
A report has criticised the increasing popularity of Black Friday, the major shopping event taking place on November 27th this year, with concerns raised over the wasteful habits that it is instilling in consumers.
The study, published by Demos, has highlighted the fact that the availability of heavily discounted electronics, covering everything from televisions to kitchen appliances, is convincing more people to get rid of their current devices, even if they are still in perfect working order and far from being obsolete.
The problem is amplified because the e-waste market is not properly controlled or regulated. This means it is harder to keep track of where unwanted electronic items are being sent and whether or not their disposal is being handled in a sustainable way, according to the International Business Times.
The report’s authors do point out that some initiatives are helping to stem the flow of e-waste into landfill sites, with certain retailers offering customers the option to trade in their old devices when they upgrade to a newer model. And this is certainly something that has been embraced in the mobile industry, where people can sell old phones to make cash and ensure that unwanted handsets are properly recycled.
Black Friday is a 24 hour shopping binge that has spread to the UK from the US in recent years, with more than a billion pounds expected to be spent during the event this year. And both in-store and online purchases of electronic items offered at significant discounts are likely to be higher than ever.
So for people who are intending to buy a new TV, smartphone or fridge this year, the advice is to make sure that the old model is disposed of responsibly via a recycling scheme, to make the upgrade process more sustainable.
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