E-wasteful
This may be more of a rant than a blog. I am a little bit ticked at my cell phone company right now.
You see, here is what happened. I have - rather HAD - a Blackberry Bold that I absolutely loved. As much as I hate to admit it, it was a bit of an attachment to my arm. My home phone, my cell phone, my computer, alarm clock - EVERYTHING! I have only had it for less than 19 months, and everything appeared to be going smoothly. Until BOOM!
So, after a bit of pleading with my service provider, they are going to send me some pink, flip, refurbished Blackberry that I hope will hold up until I am at least eligible for an upgrade, which isn't until November.
But that's not what makes me the most upset. It's the fact that these cell phone companies and distributers are so wasteful! First of all, they come out with a new model, what seems like practically everyday, so only as to encourage the ridding of one, and purchasing of another.
Secondly, you think for all of these smart, technologically saavy people, they would be able to make a phone that would last, or be able to fix a phone. How many phones do we all have laying around the house, that are now obsolete, or 'unfixable'. GRRRR!!! At least there are some places to take your old electronics now, to be recycled, rather that going to a landfill. That's a topic that opens up a whole new can of worms, but to put it into perspective, watch this E-Wasteland video.
All of this wastefulness, and creating "throwaway products' does not help our society move away from commercialism, or becoming more sustainable or thoughtful with purchase decisions. These companies make it easy for us to do that, by not giving us options. I guess a bit of a silver lining is that I am getting a refurbished phone, so it's not like I am starting all over again. I will just be adopting an old phone. And I am going to try and make this one last, beyond my upgrade threshold, mainly so as not to waste, and secondly, because I don't want to give the provider any extra money than I have to!
So, that's my rant for today. In any case, just think about e-waste next time you go to upgrade your phone or other piece of technology. It might make you think twice!
Posts
1 comments:
From my experience (I have had two BBs die early), they will allow you to get a new phone earlier, but with a small penalty ($100).
Post a Comment