Modern capitalism started in the mid 18th century and in itself, capitalism is neutral (Wood, 2017). This means that capitalism is not born with the intention to harm the environment. However, the industrial revolution came along the way, revamping the way the manufacturing industry operates and leveraged on the existing system of modern capitalism. Industrialists soon took over the merchants to become the drivers of economic growth. This came with its own set of issues. In 1925, the Phoebus Cartel was founded in Geneva. It existed to control the sale and manufacture of incandescent light bulbs. Light bulbs were made to last for 100 years, this meant reduced revenue for manufacturers. Hence, they came up with an agreement to limit the lifespan of lightbulbs, known as planned obsolescence, which was implemented in many other products we are using today. Planned obsolescence refers to the artificial shortening of a product lifespan, regardless of the resources and energy put into producing that product (Bulow, 1986). This formed the current extractive industrial model of “Take, Make, Use and Throw” (Ellen MacArther Foundation, n.d.), which results in the waste problem many countries are facing today. To aggravate this issue, people around the world are sourcing for products with the best quality at the lowest costs in the pursuit of better standards of living. Have we ever stopped to ponder, how did these goods get so cheap? To lower the costs of production, manufacturers are resorting to harmful environmental practices such as illegal logging and unsustainable palm oil production, which in itself leads to other environmental issues like pollution.
Planned Obsolescence is the act of intentionally shortening the lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it, whether physically or arbitrarily.
In the introduction, planned obsolescence was discussed. To recap, it refers to the act of intentionally shortening the lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it, whether physically or arbitrarily. Manufacturers can design or plan to produce a printer which loses its functionality within a fixed period of time by using a programmed microchip embedded within it, making it cheaper to replace than to repair the printer. A phone with irreplaceable battery can force you to buy a new buy a phone even when everything else of the phone works fine. A light bulb made to last for more than 100 years, have to be replaced frequently now. These are all workings of planned obsolescence, forcing mankind to produce more waste so that the capitalist economy can continue to prosper. Do you feel short-changed? What can we as consumers do about it?
Valuable materials like circuit boards and plastic are separated from the old electronics, processed and resold to manufacturers as new input. While unusable parts of the old electronics, like laptop screens, are left lying on open ground. In countries with lax environmental regulation and enforcement, this quickly becomes a problem. Laptop screens contain toxic chemicals like mercury, that can seep into the groundwater or get washed into the nearby water bodies during rain. Pieces of evidence have shown that the local physical environment in Guiyu, China, one of the largest e-waste recycling location, is heavily polluted. The locals in Guiyu are suffering because of the E-waste generated by others all over the world. E-waste recycling is not the panacea for the E-waste problem, and having someone else pay for our desire for a new gadget is intolerable. Hence, it is time to rethink our consumption pattern.
Before you get your next smartphone, think again, do you really need it?
Also, can E-waste recycling really solve our E-waste problem when only 20% of it gets recycled (Vaute, 2018)?
Can Daisy the recycling robot invented by Apple Inc, be the solution to our E-waste problem (CNET, 2019)?
Even though corporations are alleged to be causing the E-waste problem, with aggressive marketing strategies, planning obsolescence on their phones, some companies in the telecommunication and electronics industry are initiating e-waste collection programmes as part of their corporate social responsibility program. Examples of such companies are StarHub (RENEW, n.d.) and HP (HP, n.d.).
Find out more about this topic here:
- Planned Obsolescence: Apple Is Not The Only Culprit. Adam Sarhan. Dec 22, 2017. Click here!
- Planned Obsolescence documentary.
References
Wood, E. M. (2017). The origin of capitalism: A longer view. London: Verso.
Bulow, J. (1986). An Economic Theory of Planned Obsolescence. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 101 (4), 729. doi:10.2307/1884176
Ellen MacArther Foundation (n.d), Concept: What is a circular economy? A framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design. Retrieved from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept
Vaute, V. (2018). Recycling Is Not The Answer To The E-Waste Crisis. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/vianneyvaute/2018/10/29/recycling-is-not-the-answer-to-the-e-waste-crisis/#482549797381
CNET. (2019). Apple wants to share its Daisy robot tech for recycling iPhones. Retrieved from: https://www.cnet.com/videos/apple-wants-to-share-its-daisy-robot-tech-for-recycling-iphones/
RENEW. (n.d.). REcycling the Nation’s Electronic Waste. Retrieved from: https://www.starhub.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability/recycling-nations-electronic-waste.html
HP (n.d.). Tech Takes:\ Impact on E-waste. Retrieved from: https://store.hp.com/app/tech-takes/impact-of-e-waste