Pedestrian shares intriguing image after stumbling upon object launched from window: 'Someone probably threw it out'

When it comes to old or broken electronics, there are right and wrong ways to dispose of the ones you don't need. Ideally, you should find a way to reuse or recycle these items. Simply throwing them away is pretty bad, but what's even worse? Just hurling them out a window.

What's happening?

A student on the way home from school encountered a disturbing scene and took several pictures, which they shared on r/computers.

"I was walking home from school, when I found some broken parts from a monitor (maybe a CRT? I dunno, I'm no computer expert) and a headset," said the original poster. "It was under some apartment windows, so someone probably threw it out from there."

The photos reveal quite the scene of destruction: not just a monitor with a broken screen, but the entire unit in pieces, including broken shards of plastic, metal, glass, and circuitry.

Why is a broken monitor important?

Disposing of an electronic device this way is the worst possible option. Not only does it remove what was possibly a working monitor from circulation, but it also makes it impossible to recycle most of the pieces. The interior components, some of which are made of toxic materials, are exposed to the weather and can leach chemicals into the local soil and water sources.

In the meantime, it's been illegally dumped, creating an eyesore in a public place and leaving sharp fragments on a walking path.

Watch now: Is this common bathroom item making you sick?

Is anything being done about this?

Sadly, even though it's not common to find broken electronics on the street, it's common to simply throw them out and break them in the process.

One commenter said of their former workplace, "We often hurled them into a skip to ensure they were broken beyond repair (or just for the fun of it). I'd sometimes have a bit of sympathy for a customer where their monitor wasn't quite at the point of being beyond repair; I'd normally 'lend' them a really nice one then theirs would meet with an accident in transit."

That attitude of upgrading old but working technology and discarding the rest increases unnecessary waste in our landfills and the burden on our manufacturing system.

What can I do about e-waste?

If you have an electronic device to get rid of, don't just throw it away. Sell it secondhand if it still works, or turn it into a rewards program that will recycle it. Trashie's Tech Take Back Box is a good example with worthwhile rewards.