Tech companies are relentlessly releasing new and improved models of their electronic products. As a result, a constant influx of electronic waste is being generated. E-waste is being produced at such a rapid pace that it has become the fastest growing part of the US’s waste stream.
Most E-Waste is landfilled. Recycling electronics is difficult, expensive, and oftentimes costs more for a company or individual than letting old electronics go to waste. When these electronics do end up in the waste stream, a safety issue arises as they contain many chemicals and toxic elements. These chemicals and toxic elements can end up in groundwater and other larger water supplies.
Only 12% of electronic waste is currently recycled. However, many recycling companies simply export this waste to developing countries where they can find cheap labor willing to use dangerous methods to extract precious metals and other valuable materials. In Africa and other countries in the developing world, these methods include burning used components in order to recover scrap metals for small amounts of money. The burning of these chemicals is not only dangerous to local workers but also to the community and environment. It is not just a small portion that is exported; roughly 50-80% of what is “recycled” ends up being shipped off. Shocking images have been captured of the millions of tons of electronic waste that ends up in massive graveyards throughout the developing world. It is illegal to export broken or expired electronics, but brokers have found a loophole that deceptively labels the electronic waste as “reusable”.
Trayak, a Cincinnati-based technology company, is offering a sustainable solution to a growing electronic waste problem. MyGizmo is an application and mobile platform that will promote reuse, recycling, recovery, and electronic waste awareness. Users will find value in the application by discovering a viable electronics marketplace that leverages sustainability. Many times, perfectly functional electronics are discarded because they no longer provide value to the user. These devices often collect in a drawer or are discarded, and once out of hand, people don’t consider what happens to them. MyGizmo is aiming to build an extremely user-friendly secondary market for these unwanted electronics to give them a new life. By finding value in one person’s old or unused devices, MyGizmo creates a circular model for used electronics by allowing one person’s junk (old or obsolete devices) to become a valuable used commodity to someone else who may not be able to afford a newer device.
The app leverages a user’s social network to reduce the uncertainty of buying and selling to strangers on the internet. Users are able to see exactly who they are interacting with making for safe and friendly dealings.
Those who may not be in the market for buying or selling can conveniently manage their current devices.
MyGizmo is embracing the challenge of bringing awareness to a growing problem that most don’t even know exists. By creating a quick, easy, and fun way to promote smarter use and reuse, this platform empowers users to see the bigger picture.
E-waste has become a very real and current issue, with consequences that could reach far into the future. It has become critical to use smarter and to find creative ways to extend the life of our electronics. The MyGizmo app makes this possible and encourages users to see electronic waste through a different lens, not as the world’s problem but as our problem that we can finally take a stand against.