Electronic waste has grown to record levels
cnn.com
cnn.com
I'm currently sitting on a growing pile of brand new surplus cables, can't find anywhere similar in NYC that will take them. When I ask, folks say "just take them to some electronics recycling place." Recycling, as far as I can tell, at best means "shredding for excess gold and traces of lithium." I wanna see this stuff get used!
It might even be possible to cover any operating costs by selling used cables. In my area, there's an electronic recycling business that doesn't just shred everything -- they repair and refurbish as much as they can and sell it in their store. That's where I buy all my cables, because they have any cable you'd want for 1/10th the price. I was talking to the people working there, and they said that the cable sales alone account for nearly half of their revenue.
Electronics will need to be open so both the hardware and software can be repaired and maintained by others than the vender.
But as a hobbyist, it's also a gold mine. I have an endless bounty of free components. I rarely have to buy anything unless it's pretty rare, although I do still buy things like resistors, because the cost/benefit ratio of scavenging really low-value parts doesn't work for me.
With remainder most likely winding up in a landfill, open-air fire pit, or low-tech metal recycling operation (like shred whole boards & mechanically sort the bits). In all cases, harmful to environment & people's health.
Shipping e-waste to countries like Ghana is not the problem here. But recipient should obey same environmental standards as country where it came from. Can't guarantee that? (proper machinery no-existant, corruption, no oversight etc). Then imho it's unethical/criminal to even ship it there.
The Toxic Effects of Electronic Waste in Accra, Ghana (2019)