As technology increases, so does demand as more and more people want the latest and the greatest when it comes to gadgets. Many iPhone users, for example, will trade in a perfectly good working one for the latest model. Why? So it is unnoticeably faster than their old one? Either way, this practice and innovation creates a great deal of e-waste, as seen in the video The Digital Dump.
One of the major problems with consumer electronics is the lack of re usability and the ability to recycle different parts of the product. One part in particular is extremely difficult to reuse and recycle, the battery. Most batteries for every day use are either your typical disposable batteries or rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The first ends up in a landfill at the end of its life cycle and the second will most likely do the same as very little of it can be recycled.
A new company, Z Power, is bursting onto the market and hopes to make a serious splash for the model year 2010 with the introduction of the Z battery. This battery is made of silver and zinc and is composed of 95% recycled materials. Past attempts have failed greatly because there was simply no good alternative to traditional batteries. They could not meet the needs of the consumer. Battery life and portability were obstacles no one has overcome as of yet, but that is something that Z Power is hoping to change.
As the technology advances, hopefully the sustainability of it will as well. It is the responsibility of the consumer, producer, and retailer to put pressures on each other to create an ideal market for products such as the Z battery. Not only does a product like this suffice the bottom line, but it satisfies the triple bottom line as well.
This weeks feature is brought to us by Fortune Magazine:
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Interesting!
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