One company's "downsizing" stirred up frustration online after one office worker revealed the fate of dozens of still-usable electronics.
The post, shared to Reddit's r/Anticonsumption community, shows a table piled high with discarded equipment, including keyboards, phones, computer monitors, and other electronics.
According to the employee, the company was consolidating its office space, leaving behind mountains of gear that no one wanted.
Commenters in the thread quickly reacted, realizing that valuable materials were being tossed simply because it's easier than figuring out what to do with them.
While many suggested the original poster try to sell them or even donate them, the OP explained their hands were essentially tied.
"I have no control over what actually happens here outside of making suggestions to people that may be able to make suggestions to people that can do something," they wrote.
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The employee explained that the company is now "about half as big as pre-Covid," adding that while they plan to take whatever they can reuse, "so much [is] going to waste." They also weren't sure about whether proper recycling would happen, writing that recycling options in their part of Ohio may be limited.
According to global estimates, electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world, yet only a small fraction is properly recycled.
Electronic devices often contain valuable materials such as copper, aluminum, rare earth elements, and lithium-based batteries. When these things end up in landfills, it can leach toxins into soil and groundwater, while recoverable materials that could be reused in new products are lost.
On top of that, mining and assembling those materials requires enormous amounts of energy, labor, and water. When electronics are tossed before their time, all of that effort is effectively thrown away too.
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$200 or more 💰 Fortunately, people have alternatives for electronics they no longer need. Not only can you explore recycling options in your area, but some platforms and services can even help you make money on your old electronics.
Commenters didn't hold back.
"I hate corporate waste. It seems so excessive and without consideration. It's only money," one user said.
"When my employer did something similar, several of us donated equipment to a shelter and a private school," another wrote.
A third commenter added, "Yea, my company hired a recycling company to get rid of e-waste. This is definitely why we need corporate laws for this type of thing."
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