At London’s The Trade-Inn, guests can pay for food and drink by handing over unnecessary electronic devices, Euronews reports.
In total, the bar accepts about 14 thousand types of equipment. The campaign is supported by Spring, which has installed more than a thousand machines for collecting electronic waste in the country. The technique thus obtained is repaired and made suitable for further use.
According to representatives of the organization, by 2024, the United Kingdom may reach first place in the world in terms of production of technological waste, overtaking the current leader – Norway. About 1.6 million tons of electronic devices are emitted annually in the country. The cost of this amount of waste would be enough to buy each Briton eight pints (more than 4.5 liters) of beer.
Most e-waste in the UK is currently taken to landfills or incinerated. According to experts, each household in the country stores about 20 unnecessary units of equipment.
Researchers at the Forum for the Disposal of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment estimate that people will throw away 57.4 million tons of such waste this year. They emphasize that the life cycle of electronics is shortening. In particular, the devices quickly end up in landfills because they are short-lived and not always repairable. At the same time, the volume of electronics sales is growing – by 3% annually.
In March, a law came into force in the European Union, according to which the warranty on household appliances must be at least ten years. The EU generates an average of 16 kilograms of electrical waste per person per year. Only about 40% of this waste is currently recycled.
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