School employee stunned after stumbling upon room filled with old monitors: 'That is so disheartening'

While it's great to see that schools can afford new stuff like shiny new monitors, an employee shared a concerning side effect of the windfall. They shared a photo on the r/Anticonsumption subreddit of a school room filled with older desktop monitors.

In their post's caption, they noted that although not as sleek as current models, the monitors were fully operational. They labeled the picture as "technology waste," indicating the school was going to discard the monitors rather than sell or donate them.

That sparked frustration among commenters, who were disillusioned about the waste on display. 

"That is so disheartening especially because that is one tiny example that is being replicated a thousand times over," a user wrote.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, continues to grow rapidly worldwide, exacerbated by the constant production of new gadgets. While some numbers seem absurd on the surface, like the idea that per capita Americans produce 46 pounds of e-waste annually, this example shows why all sorts of things add up.

Meanwhile, very little of e-waste is properly recycled, donated, or repurposed. That is a major health risk, as e-waste releases harmful substances into the environment and poses a fire risk to landfill workers and trash collectors.

There are resources available to recycle electronics responsibly, as well as the potential to donate to organizations in need of still-working tech. E-waste is actually a major opportunity to unearth valuable materials from the components, including gold and rare earth materials. 

There are efforts to fine-tune the process to make e-waste recycling more lucrative, efficient, and profitable. That can reduce the need for mining and help reduce the e-waste problem.

For the school, exploring potential donation opportunities or possible takers for e-waste, like Best Buy or Goodwill, is definitely a better move than going straight to a landfill. 

The Reddit post also sparked a greater discussion about how often a school needs to upgrade something like monitors.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Chances are they best serve a school that is just doing basic computer work, which seems to be who is getting rid of them," a user said while referring to the difficulty of finding a home for old monitors.

"I think the problem is that all electronics aren't designed to be recycled," a different user wrote. "Every device which could be replaced by a better technology will end like this."

According to the UN's Global E-Waste Monitor, in 2022 alone, 63.1 million tons of e-waste were discarded. Planetnorton.org, a UN Environment Programme website, highlights that only 3% of this e-waste is recycled, while 92% ends up in landfills or is informally recycled, releasing harmful substances.

Older monitors contain valuable materials like precious metals and microchips, as Jennifer O'Hare noted in IEatPE.com. These materials could be recovered and repurposed for new products.

Fortunately, resources are Both Best Buy and Staples offer free drop-off programs for various items, with Goodwill providing another option. One commenter humorously remarked, "All is not wasted," referring to the potential value in discarded items.

The post underscores the need for more sustainable practices in handling electronic waste, encouraging communities to seek out recycling options and make better use of available resources.

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