Smartphones have greatly transformed our ways of life, offering a touch/ click Convenience in communication, entertainment, and productivity. Nevertheless, this implies enormous consequences which are environmentally unfriendly and the effects unnoticed. The global production, packaging, use, transportation, recycling, and disposal of old devices will forever change with the popularization of smartphones.
This article aims to assess smartphones’ role in environmental degradation and the measures that need to be taken.
Resource Extraction
One of the very first environmental consequences of smartphones is linked to raw material extraction. Most smartphones have gold, silver, palladium, lithium, and other rare earth elements, including platinum group metals. Most of these materials are sourced from countries with undesirable working conditions and environmental standards, which may harm the environment severely.
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In mining operations, other resources, including energy and water, are used throughout the mining process. However, it also leads to much waste and pollution; nanoparticles are buried in the soil or released into the air and water in the surrounding environment. In the same way, negative social impact relates to the loss of tropical forests, loss of living space for animals, and the eviction of people to allow mining, all of which worsen the environmental status.
Manufacturing Process
After that, raw materials are transformed into smartphones in enormous factories in China, South Korea, and Vietnam. Manufacturing is perhaps the most damaging stage in the life cycle of a smartphone as it needs a lot of energy and water in addition to several chemicals.
Most factories on the market use fuel resources, which are non-renewable resources that cause emissions of greenhouse gases and, as a result, climate change. The chemicals used in the production of these materials can also be hazardous in that they pollute the environment when not well handled. While some firms have made changes to make manufacturing less damaging, smartphones still have a significant environmental footprint.
Energy Consumption During Usage
Individually, each mobile phone does not consume a significant amount of energy, yet the total flow of energy consumption through all mobile phones worldwide cannot be dismissed as insignificant. Considering that more than a billion smartphones are in use worldwide, the energy needed to charge these devices and the power consumed by data centers serving cloud services signify carbon emissions.
The digital processing centers hosting most smartphone data today are a massive energy drain. While many corporations are beginning to transition to renewable energy to support their data centers, the increasing necessity of data services means the ecological impact of smartphones is still increasing.
E-Waste and Disposal Issues
The most severe environmental challenge that is connected with the use of smartphones is electronic waste or e-waste. First, technology is fast advancing in the smartphone industry, meaning that consumers are changing their devices frequently and, in the process, dumping a set of usable phones. Word Bank Global E-waste Monitor stated that it was estimated that 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste was generated in 2019 and that smartphones were a leading product in this category.
The disposal of electronic waste without due consideration has a lot of dangerous impacts on the environment. Used smartphones are buried in landfills, and since these devices contain lead, mercury, and cadmium, dangerous compounds can dissolve in water, and we become the consumers of this polluting water and ailing. Phone recycling levels are still low; only a small portion of e-waste gets recycled.
Carbon Footprint
The carbon impact is counted from the commencement of production, circulation, use, and disposal of a smartphone. A study indicates that an average smartphone has a lifetime carbon footprint of about 55 kg of CO2, of which 80% is contributed during the manufacturing process. This is mostly attributed to the high amount of energy required to extract raw materials and the compounding of other parts.
Undoubtedly, an increased number of smartphones on the market means an increased negative impact on the environment. Billions of devices make their relative contribution: the climate is warming, and the environment is worsening.
Conclusion
As an inseparable subject of most people’s everyday lives, smartphones have a critical effect on the environment during the extraction of materials, production, usage, and disposal. There is a great deal that can be done at both the consumer and manufacturer levels to lessen the negative impact of smartphones and towards creating a more sustainable world, conscious choices such as keeping device lifespan long, ensuring that the products that need recycling are done correctly, and supporting firms that are friendly to the environment.
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