Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as the economic crunch digs in across the Western world we’ll probably see a rise in habits like urban mining. [image by HeyPaul]
Urban mining is a hip term grafted onto an un-hip task that’s been a major source of employment (and illness) in places like China for quite some time. It hinges on the idea that certain consumer electronic devices that are perceived to have no value as a working item thanks to obsolescence (hello, old cell-phone!) contain residual value in the form of the metals used in their construction. Urban mining is the process of digging the value out of dead technology.
If you’ve read some of my flash fiction pieces you’ll know that this is a subject that fascinates me, and I believe it will become a big component of any future economy, especially in developing nations.
What I find saddest of all is that the fancy “urban mining” moniker is a way of covering up the contempt we feel for a process that we already pay lip-service to – it’s just recycling, after all. The only difference is that the world’s poor can’t afford to not do it. [Via Posthuman Blues – cheers, Mac!]
In four years, I’ve been through 3 or 4 cell phones, a couple digital cameras and 2 iPods. Not to mention the computer hardware that’s gone belly-up on me. So what can I do with all this stuff? Toss it in the trash? Recycle? The toxic chemicals will pollute, and recyclers haven’t been as scrupulous as we might like – shipping this stuff off to poor countries where circuit boards are burnt to get at their valuable metals.
Now, a socially-responsible company will buy your old consumer electronics off you, refurbish them and sell them on the street, all in an effort to reduce e-waste and improve sustainability. Second Generation out of Massachusetts will calculate the price then give you a printable shipping label which you slap on a box and send off. After the items have had their check, you get yours. If I were in the States, I’d certainly make use of this. Check out this article at Ars Technica for an in-depth review of Second Generation’s process.
Fast Company have a great collection of 50 things companies are doing to ‘green’ their business. From Cheerios and Coors converting their waste food to biofuels to computer servers using their excess hot water to heat the buildings, a lot of big names are getting onto the trend. It’s easy to see why – reducing costs whilst increasing customer satisfaction is a rare combination. With the current way of business producing plenty of waste, it makes perfect sense to use unused food, silicon, heat and So long as the reductions don’t just lead to increased use, we should reward these companies applying the idea ‘work smart, not hard’ to their energy usage. Executives like Mike Brown are helping big companies to think more about every facet of their business. In time governments should implement a lot of these guidelines but its hard not to admire many of the businesses working ahead of the curve.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as the economic crunch digs in across the Western world we’ll probably see a rise in habits like urban mining. [image by HeyPaul]
