The Carbon Footprint of Postponing Phone Upgrades

Can you imagine a day without your phone? You will find it hard due to the constant connectivity you get from the device. Additionally, your phone serves as a wallet and camera, just to mention a few. This, undoubtedly, makes the device an indispensable tool in your daily life. It’s for this reason that you need an updated model with better performance. Is it so, or do you fear missing out on the cool features?

That old phones receive fewer updates over time is no secret. This can slow down their performance. Besides, it can cause compatibility issues. However, constantly upgrading to the latest models comes at a considerable cost. Among them is environmental degradation. But how does this come about?

The Concerning Wave of UK E-Waste

Electronic waste, coming from devices like smartphones, has become one of the rapidly growing sources of waste in the UK and around the world. To put it into perspective, the UK produced tonnes of e-waste in the previous year, according to Statista.com. This makes it one of the highest producers, with smartphones playing a significant part.

This is because, like you, many users upgrade their devices but fail to resell or recycle the old ones. Such devices waste valuable minerals like gold and rare earth metals.

Additionally, keeping them breaks the impact of climate action put in place by activists to combat e-waste. Thankfully, you can reuse the device or take advantage of the incentives offered by the circular-economy incentives. This will ensure responsible upgrading.

Why is Doing So Necessary?

It all boils down to the new phones. Most of the smartphone’s carbon footprint is created before it hits your hand. This is because the manufacturing process is responsible for over 70% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions include those from the extraction of the raw materials and components processing. Assembling the device also emits carbon into the atmosphere—the same applies to distribution.

Producing a single new smartphone that you so yearn for emits about 95kg of CO₂-e into the atmosphere. With a recent lifecycle analysis conducted by SellMyPhone.co.uk showing every reused handset avoids roughly 55 kilograms of CO₂-e emissions, it’d be best to take up this practice for a better tomorrow.

Reselling: Why It’s Your Best Option

If you find the phone obsolete, reselling and not keeping it or throwing it in the bin is undeniably your best option. Or, you can donate it to relevant organizations. This will extend its life and reduce the need for the manufacturer to produce a new one. Doing so will directly impact the environment. How so?

For instance, if a million phones were reused, going by the figures above, the UK would save close to 55,000 tonnes of CO₂-e. This is equivalent to the yearly emission of over 11,000 cars. Adopting this measure also reduces the need for more raw materials, easing the pressure on the environment.

Imagine how much it can save if the reused phones re-enter the market through trade-ins and second-hand sales. The environment will thank you for this smart carbon-saving strategy, as you will be putting a smile on the face of someone who can’t afford the latest flagship phone.

The Impact of Not Reselling

Your innocent act of holding onto that phone can contribute to the e-waste stockpiling. To make it worse, refurbishing degraded batteries becomes harder as they age. This significantly reduces their likelihood of being reused.

How has this Been Made Easy for you

Many relevant entities in the UK market are helping to ensure that the reselling process is easy. In addition, they have come up with the circular economy model that aims at keeping smartphones in use for as long as possible. This aims at extracting maximum value from them before responsibly recovering or regenerating components when the smartphones’ life comes to an end. They are encouraging practices like:

• Trade-in programs: Put in place by UK retailers and mobile phone networks, these programs offer incentives for turning in old phones. In doing so, you will receive cash or credit. The devices are then refurbished or resold to other users.
• Extended warranties and repairability: Some companies have repairable phones designed for long-term usage. In addition to that, there are regulations in place that are pushing for the manufacturers to extend the support cycle. This will help in minimizing the constant need for new phones.
• Refurbished phone marketplaces: Platforms like SellMyPhone.co.uk have made it easier to buy and sell refurbished phones. On such sites, you will find devices complete with warranties and quality checks. But before using such sites, ensure that you run a background check to ascertain the reputation and the quality of the devices sold.

The government has also introduced the Right to Repair laws. Such laws, which mandate that manufacturers provide electronics repair parts and repair information, aim at reducing disposal. There are ongoing efforts to make such laws to cover smartphones more comprehensively.

Responsible Resale:  The 4-Step Checklist

That you’ve made it this far means you’re willing to take this step. However, before doing so, you must be cautious of how you go about it. Failure to which, your sensitive data and files fall into the wrong hands. This will also help in ensuring that you aren’t selling a faulty device. Besides, it will help ensure that your effort is positively impacted. Therefore, do the following:

• Backup and erase your data: Safeguard your information and files before deleting them from the device. You can store them in the clouds or on physical devices. After that, the factory resets and removes the memory card or SIM.
• Check condition: Asses your phone’s condition to help the platforms categorize them during the sales. Don’t conceal this information or lie.
• Choose safe packaging and delivery: Suppose you’re shipping the device; use minimal and recycled packaging.
• Ensure social proof: Review what others are saying about the platform you want to donate to or resell the smartphone on.

A smartphone is undeniably a vital device. However, its impact on the environment can be immense, especially if you postpone upgrading. This comes from the carbon footprint every device leaves during and after manufacturing. Therefore, join the circular economy programs for a safer tomorrow.