Smartphones and laptops have become constant companions for many people. Often it should be the latest model. But that is bad for the environment and your wallet.
It is cleaned, erased and screwed – after all, the once used smartphone should look great when it arrives at the new owner. More and more providers have specialized in refurbishment, so they buy used equipment, overhaul it and resell it. A trend that is still often met with skepticism among consumers. The used label often has an unpleasant aftertaste: What can old technology still do and can the quality keep up?
The company Interzero from Berlin and Cologne wants to get used devices out of this “dirty corner”. “Buying used technology should be a like-new experience,” says Dirk Krolikowski, Head of Operations, Technology and Processes. “Only then does the effect of retelling emerge.”
There are now many portals on which used technology is offered. They advertise with slogans like “Good for your karma, good for your wallet – refurbished instead of buying new”. The price plays a decisive role, reports the consumer protection center. We know from surveys that the majority don’t even look at the latest innovations. “Instead, the price is often more important. Anyone who buys used saves money and resources.” Up to 50 percent savings compared to a new purchase are possible.
Fear for the stored data
From the point of view of the consumer protection center, however, you have to take a closer look. Consumers should check whether there are quality processes that a smartphone or laptop has to go through at the refurbishment provider. The illustration can also be a clue. “Is it of the product offered in the current condition or a catalog photo?”.
At Interzero, it is a time-consuming process from the given laptop or tablet to the overhauled device. “First, the devices are unpacked and identified and inventoried,” says Krolikowski. “Companies treat their technology less fussy than people at home,” he reports. Most devices arrive here from companies and only some from private use.
At home, the old smartphone often just ends up in the drawer. According to the Bitkom digital association, around 210 million old cell phones were stored in households in Germany last year. 87 percent of citizens had at least one discarded mobile phone. That number has more than doubled since 2015.
Hard disk is rewritten
There are many reasons for that. Consumers are worried about their data stored on the old devices. Data security therefore plays a major role in refurbishment.
“The data will be securely deleted,” reports Krolikowski in Berlin. “There are devices that stand for 18 to 20 hours and the hard drive is overwritten again and again.” At the customer’s request, data carriers can also be removed and shredded. These shredded parts are then melted and can be used further, for example as building material for railings.
During the deletion, the technical data of the device and the external condition are also checked. For example, whether the display is broken or stickers need to be removed. According to Krolikowski, around 3,800 smartphones are processed in Berlin each week, and Interzero assumes that there will be even more in the future.
Criticism from the German Environmental Aid
From an ecological point of view, that would be good. Continuing to use used devices conserves resources and saves greenhouse gases. But according to the German Environmental Aid, that’s not enough. “There needs to be an obligation to check for reusability when collecting and recording old electrical equipment,” said Thomas Fischer, DUH head of recycling management. He sees the federal government as having a duty. “We don’t have any legal requirements or obligations to reuse the devices. That means we’re failing.”
At the end of June, Federal Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens), together with her counterparts from the federal states, spoke out in favor of a right to repairs. To this end, a repair law is to be drawn up that will oblige manufacturers to provide consumers and technically competent repairers with repair information free of charge and in a transparent manner.
In addition, the support program “Repair instead of throwing away” is to be launched this year. It is in departmental coordination and will therefore continue to be discussed within the federal government, says a spokesman for the ministry on request.
From the point of view of environmental aid, these would be the right steps, but the plans are still too vague. “There is no specific schedule,” says Fischer. “And what was mentioned there is not enough in the end either.” More work needs to be done to make repairs more economically attractive.
The environmental aid is therefore calling for repairs to be made more attractive, for example through a lower VAT rate. “So that means that work and repairs must be better off financially than buying new products,” says Fischer.
Source: Stern
