Fixed is the new ‘new’: Advocates say to consider greener tech purchases this holiday season

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If you plan to buy electronics like smartphones or video game consoles this holiday season, local environmental advocates hope you’ll consider refurbished items.

“There are a ton of steps even before you get to the store and actually see it, where those resources, those pollutants are really harming our environment,” said Belle Sherwood, a clean energy associate with PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center. “If you buy a refurbished phone, you’re not contributing to … that. You’re getting a phone that’s already been made.”

Producing electronics like laptops and smartphones requires mining elements, including cobalt, which is tied to air and water pollution and humanitarian concerns. Manufacturing of electronics also produces planet-warming carbon emissions. Discarded electronics contribute to a growing stream of e-waste that can expose people to hazardous substances, such as neurotoxins.

“The result is pollution of land, groundwater and occasionally in some parts of the world when they’re burned, in air pollution,” said Dele Ogunseitan, a public health researcher at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied e-waste. “The health effects are myriad.”

PennEnvironment and the nonprofit’s national affiliate, Environment America Research & Policy Center, released a green holiday gifting guide that includes tips on buying used, repaired and refurbished electronics.

The group recommends researching a provider’s inspection and repair process, comparing costs with similar refurbished items and making sure the refurbished item comes with a warranty, return policy or insurance.

The group does not recommend buying refurbished products with non-replaceable batteries, like Apple AirPods.

“Just because they won’t last,” Sherwood said.

City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents parts of West and Southwest Philly, hopes Philadelphians will shop for refurbished goods locally, at business corridors in the 3rd councilmanic district.

“You’re still getting something that, for all intents and purposes, is new, and the recipient of that gift would appreciate it, and your wallet will appreciate it as well,” she said.

Mac Frederick, who owns Phone Repair Philly, says buying refurbished rather than new items can mean discounts of around 50%. Some repair and refurbish stores, like Frederick’s, also offer credit for trading in an old device, which makes the new one even cheaper.

“You’re gonna save a lot of money in most cases,” he said.

Ogunseitan says extending the life of an electronic device — through repair or refurbishment, or simply by holding off replacing it with the latest version — can make a big dent in its lifetime greenhouse gas emissions, assuming doing so prevents another device from being produced.

“If you’re able to repair and extend the useful life, you could save anywhere from a third of the embodied emissions to … two-thirds,” he said.

Ultimately, the best way to reduce your environmental footprint is not to buy the latest gadget, Sherwood said.

“The greenest way to handle your electronics is to use them for as long as possible,” she said.