Don’t e-waste a minute

n our modern world, technology is an everyday part of our lives — during the day, we work on computers and by night, our eyes are fixed to our television screens, games consoles or mobile phones. Every few months, the ‘next big thing’ in tech is launched and our older devices are scrapped, waylaid for the updated version, even though the existing product is in perfectly good condition. What’s worse is that technology isn’t made to last like it once was and as such, products become faulty or unusable much more quickly, and are more promptly discarded, usually incorrectly. The rapid growth of our digital and consumerled society is contributing to, what the United Nations has dubbed as a ‘tsunami of e-waste’ which requires immediate action — in order to protect both the environment and health. So, what happens to unwanted or broken