Planned Obsolescence & Fast Tech

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October 14th marks E-Waste Day, which also happens to be the day that an estimated 400 million functional computers will become obsolete… overnight.

I’m sure so many of us are already aware of the impact of e-waste, but I wanted to write to you to let you know about Back Market’s campaign against Planned Obsolescence - a concept I wrote about in the “Deconstructing Capitalism” chapter of It’s Not That Radical - as well as sharing some tips on how to combat this.

First things first… here’s the hard facts:

• Microsoft has announced that from next month Windows 10 will no longer be eligible for security updates, new features or tech support.

• Many Windows 10 computers are ineligible to upgrade due to hardware requirements.

• If users no longer have access to security measures… their devices become unsafe to use.

People won’t be able to update their devices, rendering them useless. Back Market predicts that this will make 20-25% of the laptops they sell completely unsellable.

This is all part of Big Tech’s plan to get us to buy new products before we actually need them. Many of these computers were only released in 2017, making them only 8 years old.

So what can you do about this?

The first thing you can do is join Back Market’s Right to Repair movement by making some noise about e-waste, planned obsolescence and pushing for repairable and longer lasting tech. You can share the video I’ve made about this on Instagram and TikTok and share these facts with friends and family:

• Since 2010, e-waste has increased by 82%, reaching 62 million tonnes in 2022.

• An underwhelming 22.3% of e-waste is properly recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, sitting in our drawers, or toxic recycling systems, especially in the Global South.

• E-waste makes up less than 5% of landfill mass, but contributes over 70% of toxicity.

If you’re on the look out for a new computer, Back Market is offering customers “obsolete” computers that are refitted with new operating systems. I’ve only been buying tech second-hand or refurbished for years now as a boycott of Big Tech both for e-waste reasons and in opposition of the exploitation of the people and land in Congo. My two most recent phones were refurbished ones and I highly recommend!

And if you already have a computer at home that’s at risk of becoming obsolete, you can also check out Back Market’s guides and videos on how to give these devices a second chance by installing new operating systems at home. (It’s genuinely much easier than you think!)

I hope you join me in standing up to companies such as Microsoft, who are creating tonnes of preventable e-waste in a push to feed our obsession with having the latest tech. It really doesn’t have to be this way!

In solidarity and love,

Mikaela