The Cost of Innovation

After the traumatic hard drive crash incident, I started to notice the prevalence of technology all around me. I know what you're thinking - Nafisa, Captain Obvious, is stating what everyone already knows - technology practically controls our lives.

My brain took an interesting route when I was thinking about this. Okay, so technology controls our lives... what does that mean for our purchasing habits, for the environment? I couldn't help but wonder why we often buy new printers instead of simply having the ink refilled, why we buy new cellphones instead of repairing the old ones. As consumers, it can be a pretty obvious choice; we buy the brand new printer because it's somehow cheaper than getting the old one fixed.

At first glance, it seems like a win-win situation because buying a new machine is both cheaper AND quicker… But, once you take a closer look, you'll see that it’s actually producers and distributors benefiting at the expense of consumers and the environment. With a new purchase being clearly cheaper, the consumer doesn't really have a choice other than to reinvest his/her money regularly into a new product rather than getting the old one fixed.

And when we buy the new printer, or the new cellphone, what happens to the old one? Just like that, it becomes obsolete; we throw it out and forget about it. If we keep buying new things, and keep throwing out the old ones, the waste is bound to accumulate. These technological products must be carefully managed; they have special recycling procedures and can't just be thrown into your blue bin the way you do everything else. Awareness of such programs is, unfortunately, low and old products are not well managed. The environment is, consequently, getting destroyed by heaps of electronic waste as a result of our unbridled quest for innovation.     

As consumers, we ignore the environmental effects of our purchases and we buy the new product because its cheaper. So, to the root of the problem, why is it so expensive to repair these products? Well, for starters, globalization! With most of production occurring abroad, most often in Asia, there aren’t many factories in Canada, for example. Consequently, when it comes to repairs, technicians in Canada rarely have the tools or spare parts necessary to fix the machine. Repairs are also lengthy because of the wait time for spare parts to be shipped from the Asian producing countries. The huge disparity in costs is also largely attributed to labour standards; when the product is initially made, it is produced in countries where the cost of labour is substantially lower. In contrast, repairs are generally done in the country of purchase, meaning that the cost of the service would be based on Canadian labour wages. The varying labour standards are reflected in the jump in prices for a new product and its repair.

Okay, so now that we’ve discussed the problem, it’s about time we start thinking about what we can do to mitigate it. Some electronic stores have added an Environmental Handling Fee (EHF), which is pretty much an imposed surcharge on electronics to pay for the eventual disposal of the products. Though I know consumers probably aren’t too happy about this extra $20 added to their bills, I do believe the EHF can encourage reuse and refurbishment, as well as environmentally sound recycling.
       As consumers, we should:
                  - Make the effort to buy less polluting products
                  - Discard the used equipment in an appropriate manner
                  - Curb our appetite for novelty 

This on it’s own isn’t enough, but it is definitely a good starting point to manage and reduce our carbon footprint. What do you think? What can be done to solve this problem? Or do think it isn't even a problem?