Environmental Impact of Devices

A digital device affects the environment throughout its lifecycle: obtaining raw materials, manufacturing and transporting it, using it, and eventually disposing of it. Looking only at the electricity a phone or computer uses misses much of its environmental impact.

These stages are connected. Replacing a working device does not just create waste: it also creates demand for another device to be manufactured and transported.

Extracting materials and manufacturing devices

Digital devices require raw materials including sand, oil and metals, such as copper, gold and silver. Extracting these materials uses energy and can scar the landscape, destroy habitats, and contaminate soil and local water supplies. Using finite, non-renewable resources also leaves less available for the future.

Manufacturing turns these materials into components and finished devices. Factory processes consume energy and can produce toxic waste. Components may contain hazardous substances, including lead, mercury and cadmium, which require careful handling.

Transport adds another impact. Raw materials travel to factories, and finished devices travel to suppliers and consumers. When factories and transport burn fossil fuels, they release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Manufacturing therefore has both local effects, such as water contamination, and wider effects through greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy consumption continues during use

Computers, phones and servers need electricity to operate. The environmental consequence depends partly on how that electricity is generated: electricity produced by burning fossil fuels is associated with carbon dioxide emissions.

The device in front of a user is only part of the system. Internet services and cloud storage also rely on data centres, which house servers that process and store data. These servers consume electricity, so storing something online does not remove its energy cost; some of that cost occurs elsewhere.

Energy-efficient hardware reduces the energy required to perform a task. Reducing energy demand can reduce the emissions associated with electricity generation. However, an efficient device still has manufacturing and disposal impacts, so efficiency during use is not the whole picture.

Why short replacement cycles increase harm

The replacement cycle is the time between acquiring a device and replacing it. It can vary between devices and between users. A business may replace equipment according to its needs and costs, while an individual may replace a phone to obtain newer features.

A short replacement cycle means more devices are bought and discarded over the same period. This increases demand for raw materials, factory production and transport, as well as the amount of e-waste needing disposal.

For example, replacing a working laptop simply to obtain newer features creates demand for another laptop even though the original can still perform useful tasks. Keeping suitable equipment in use for longer, or passing it to another user, can reduce the need for new production and delay waste.

Disposal: losing materials and releasing pollutants

E-waste is discarded electrical or electronic equipment. If a device is sent to landfill, valuable materials are lost rather than recovered. Many components do not biodegrade, and hazardous substances can leak into soil and water when waste is handled or disposed of improperly.

Sending e-waste elsewhere does not automatically solve the problem. Poorly controlled disposal or material recovery can expose people to harmful substances and cause environmental contamination in the receiving country.

The main alternatives are reuse and recycling. Reuse keeps a device or component working, extending its useful life. Recycling processes unwanted equipment to recover materials for new products. Manufacturer take-back programmes and appropriate electrical-waste collection facilities help direct devices towards controlled treatment rather than ordinary landfill.

Reducing harm across the lifecycle

Different measures address different problems:

• Longer use and reuse reduce demand for replacement devices and delay disposal.
• Energy-efficient design reduces energy requirements during manufacture or operation.
• Responsible recycling recovers useful materials and helps manage hazardous waste.
• Restrictions on hazardous substances reduce harmful materials entering equipment in the first place.

Two relevant measures are the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) rules, which restrict hazardous materials in electrical and electronic equipment, and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013, which set collection, recycling and recovery targets.

No single measure removes every impact. Recycling helps recover materials, but does not undo the energy already used to manufacture and transport a device. Likewise, replacing equipment with a more efficient model creates new manufacturing and disposal impacts. A sensible environmental judgement considers the whole lifecycle, not just one stage.