The Story of Electronics

The latest film from the Story of Stuff team focuses on consumer electronics and the problems of waste, recycling and toxic components.

Sales of consumer electronics, particularly mobile phones and computers, have soared in the past two decades, with one billion of the former sold in 2007.

Although Europe and the US have set up e-waste recycling systems, much of the e-waste ends up being illegally exported to less industrialised countries, where the laws to protect workers and the environment are inadaquate or not enforced.

As well as giving an overview of the problems, The Story of Electronics also urges major electronics companies to start taking a stronger lead in making longer-lasting, recyclable and toxic-free products.

Filmmaker and activist Emmanuelle Schick told The Ecologist that the industry should be forced to list the ‘ingredients’ of chemicals in its products, just like for food.

‘I think people in general think electronics are pretty harmless, except for the use of mobile phones, so it would be interesting to see how that would affect people’s relationship to electronics.’

Also see

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff

In the natural world there is no such thing as waste either in time or space. The output of one process is the input to another.

All loops should be closed. We should either use natural materials that can be reused, recycled or composted; or our manmade materials should parallel the natural world and form closed loops. We should have zero waste. All toxic materials should be eliminated.

All trade should be fairtrade.

Also see

The Story of Cosmetics

Lush Cosmetics – Our Environmental Policy