Ed Said - The waste of technology

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According to some we (Kiwi’s) create more waste per head of population than almost any other country in the developed world. Firstly I’m not sure what the ‘developed’ world is because a couple of the most developed countries in the world also have a large population living in third world conditions, China being one. 

On one hand food waste is easily disposed of through being mulched into compost or being fed to animals. On the other the amount of waste going into landfills in the form of discarded household appliances is a major problem. Fridges and washing machines are problematic due to their bulk but we also have jugs, heaters, toasters, coffee machines, and breadmakers which firstly we didn’t have decades ago, and secondly are not designed to last like those of yesteryear. And in our throwaway society they are not worth or able to be fixed. Even if they were, many young technicians of today wouldn’t know how.This is apart from the fact they are made from largely synthetic material and won’t decompose anyway.

My Mother had an agitator washing machine that, apart from the wringer on the top, it just performed the left, right, left, right motion ad infinitum. If it stopped it either needed a new ball-bearing race or a belt. Both of these were easily sought and replaced by most husbands. Technology plus consumer demand now says we want a machine with ten different soaking, washing (light and heavy), rinsing and spinning cycles. These are governed by a sealed circuit board meaning if the apparatus breaks down it cannot be fixed or the price is prohibitive to the extent a household chooses to get a later model with even more bells and whistles.

While we may bemoan the cost of appliances, Consumer magazine tells us compared to the average wage the fridges and washing machines of today are comparatively much cheaper than thirty or more years ago. They just don’t last as long.

In our parents’ day they were sold major appliances that would “last a lifetime” and they virtually did. Nowadays manufacturers will never sell on ‘durability’. Nobody really wants things these days that will last for twenty years. Galloping technology means these things are almost archaic by the time they are out of warranty. Computers and cellphones are another example.
Whatever age, most of us have a cellphone. You may have one that is six or so years old and think you’ll get a new one. Try giving your old one to a teenage Grandchild. They’ll laugh at you and tell you it’s a dinosaur and can’t do anything. Today among the young, a cellphone is not for talking. It’s for texting and games. 

We already have the facility to log our refrigerator contents on our phones so while supermarket shopping we won’t run out of anything. Similarly with 5G very close it’s entirely possible all our appliances will be connected to our computers, phones and even our TVs allowing us to boil the jug using the TV remote. This is what consumers are demanding from technology and we can adapt, even us oldies, over a period of time. We just don’t know what to do with the aftermath. Houston, we have a problem!

Rob

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