Chinese workers dismantle e-waste

More than ever, consumer electronics are defined by disposability. Cameras become obsolete nearly as soon as they appear. Computers, MP3 players and cellphones are endlessly churned out and touted as necessary replacements for current models (or their non-replaceable batteries die). In the frenzy for the latest and greatest, we often forget that what we throw out does not disappear, is not magically recycled. Instead there are close to 40 million metric tons of it floating around, poisoning water supplies, contaminating soil, and exposing to health risks people in developing countries who earn a living dismantling and salvaging the electronic waste that ends up in their backyards. Could a global initiative led by some of the worst offenders solve the problem?

Yesterday marked the formal launch of StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem), a program headed by the United Nations to unite a number of manufacturers, governments, universities and NGOs from around the world to create standards that would lessen the environmental and health effects of our current approach to electronics. Besides attempting to standardize recycling practices to harvest from discarded gadgets valuable components (such as indium, a by-product of zinc mining primarily used to create transparent electrodes such as those in LCD screens and which is now more valuable than silver), the initiative focuses on making devices less likely to be thrown out in the first place. The industry members, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, will work to design better-quality products with parts that can be more easily upgraded on an individual basis.

So will the program actually amount to anything, considering that the consumer-electronics industry lives and dies by the cycle of constant upgrades? Well, its not too promising that Microsoft has spent the past month under fire after analysts reported that the Vista operating systems strict upgrade requirements could send millions of PCs to the landfill in the coming years—10 million PCs in the U.K. alone. But it certainly might be a start, encouraging manufacturers to create better products and consumers to consider the consequences of their purchasing decisions. In the meantime, though, well settle for a Frankenpod. —Abby Seiff

When my old-timey 3G iPod bit it a few months back, I was lucky enough to have on hand (a) another broken 3G to harvest some working parts from and (b) the recklessness (some might say genius) to pry my precious 'pod open with a thin piece of scrap aluminum (from a broken Wii, no less). Fortunately, everything turned out fine, and I'm now the proud owner of a 3G Frankenpod that's still alive and clicking.

If you too are the keeper of an iPod that's fallen prey to a case of the ol' planned obsolescence, an easier fix may be at ipodhowtovideo.com, where not only will you find (as you might expect) helpful how-to videos illustrating how to more, ahem, responsibly open up your player, but also an online shop to buy all manner of replacement batteries, LCD screens, hard drives and opening tools at reasonable prices. Don't just stand there mourning—resurrect your iPod today! —John Mahoney

[via Lifehacker]

Marvin Birnbom started selling WWII surplus in 1947. That business has grown into surplustraders.net, which offers more than 900 pages of deeply discounted electronic overstock. The site lists both bulk deals—1,000 AA batteries for eight cents each, 10 keyboards at $4.50 per—and a few individual items (12.1-inch LCD screens for $89 apiece). But Birnbom, a hobbyist himself, will sell you any quantity of anything as long as you meet the $30 minimum order. Just give him a call: 514-739-9328.