A Redditor had just about enough of an appliance manufacturer and took to the r/AirPurifiers community to vent.
"They put out a new air purifier with a specific filter, that is sometimes only 0.5 cm different in dimensions to other [filters]. They then later discontinue the production of filters and you are left with a perfectly operating, but now useless air purifier, because filters are discontinued," wrote the original poster. "This of course is producing even more e-waste and is in my opinion a deceitful practice."
The company they're talking about is Xiaomi, and they say this trend has been going on for years. Xiaomi is a giant in the electronics world and has started producing some competitive electric vehicles.
Anecdotes like the original poster's fly in the face of Xiaomi's own stated sustainability goal to "ensure the availability of spare parts for products that are no longer sold."
Xiaomi's environmental track record is otherwise mixed. Its emissions have been on the rise, but it has also committed to running exclusively on renewable energy by 2040.
Air purifiers are a worthy investment as atmospheric pollutants become more prevalent and introduce health risks at home, but standardized filters are an important step to the longevity of the hardware. E-waste is a massive challenge. It's prone to leaching chemicals into nearby soil when left in a landfill, and recycling involves a host of health risks.
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Knowing your recycling options is important when forced into a corner with obsolete devices. If possible, it's worth putting functioning items onto the used marketplace to ensure they get a second life. The Reddit community largely agreed with the original poster's frustrations with Xiaomi.
"Planned obsolescence is the game," replied one user.
"They all do this crap. Only way they'll stop is when people start banding together like the old days and boycotting or making enough of a stink about it," said another.
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Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?
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