From E-Waste to Eco-Wonder: Resurrecting Computers for a Sustainable Future

Jorge Reyna (), Jose Hanham and Joanne Orlando
Additional contact information
Jorge Reyna: Education and Training, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
Jose Hanham: School of Education, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Joanne Orlando: School of Education, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Educational institutions are massive consumers of computing technologies, often replacing their computing infrastructure in a 3-to-5-year timeframe. Once decommissioned, many components of computing technologies are no longer useable and become electronic waste. Replacing computer infrastructure within these short timeframes is a significant e-waste sustainability issue that educational institutions need to address. This article aims to introduce and provoke new thinking regarding e-waste management and its implications for education. The authors introduce the term sustainable device literacy to conceptualise how educators and educational institutions can take an educative approach to refreshing computing technologies beyond their presumed obsolescence. Two example case studies that demonstrate the upgrade of a laptop from 2012 and a desktop computer from 2015 are included to provoke new discussions regarding e-waste and education. Using benchmarking tools, the findings from the case studies show that computing technologies that may be considered obsolete can be upgraded to include much of the functionality of current computers. The broader implications for sustainability are discussed.

Keywords: education for sustainability; e-waste; innovative ideas; recycling computers; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3363/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3363/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3363-:d:1377431

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().