Published on 1 May, 2024 - Wondering whether buying refurbished electronics really helps the planet? Here are the facts to prove how refurbished electronics reduce e-waste, save you money, and more.
Back Market, like a lot of other companies, was founded on a hunch. Ours was that refurbished electronics could be a driver for reducing e-waste and a sustainable alternative to buying new devices (and everything that comes along with that: carbon emissions, pollution, depletion of water and raw materials).
It looks like we were right.
Back in October 2020, we brought an idea to ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency: to quantify the environmental impact of the refurbished electronics industry worldwide.
In July 2022, the ADEME released a study on the environmental impact of refurbished smartphones, computers, tablets, and other electronics. This report, called “Assessment of the environmental impact of a set of refurbished products” — a one-of-a-kind study that’s never been done before — was recently published in French (and is available in English). You'll find below an explanation on the key figures regarding specifically refurbished smartphones.
(Note: Back Market did not support the study financially; we only suggested the idea to ADEME.)
1. A single refurbished smartphone prevents 6.29 oz (178.2) of e-waste
Each brand new smartphone generates about 7.06 oz (200.2 g) of e-waste. A refurbished smartphone, just 0.78 oz (22 g) — that’s 89% less!
Imagine holding 20 pairs of AirPods in your hands. That’s about the amount of e-waste a refurbished smartphone saves from the landfill (6.29 oz or 178.2 g, to be exact).
In just the first quarter of 2021, Apple sold 58 million smartphones. Samsung sold 76 million smartphones. If even half of those sales were replaced by refurbished smartphones, the world would have saved 13,190.63 US tons (11,966,333.71 kg) of electronic waste.
2. A refurbished smartphone prevents 537.05 lbs (243.6 kg) of raw materials from being mined
Anyone who’s had a new smartphone has been a gold digger by default. Raw materials like gold, silver, aluminum, copper, cobalt, chrome — at least 15 different types — are needed to manufacture a single smartphone. All that digging around amounts to about 587.97 lbs (266.7 kg) of earth dug up to get a tiny bit of the metals and minerals needed.
It’s a little ridiculous, especially if all those resources are tossed back to the earth as trash in just a few years. Not-so-fun fact: there’s more gold in 1 ton of e-waste than in 1 ton of gold ore. With manufacturers pumping out 1.4 billion smartphones a year, you don’t need to be good at math to get that we’re depleting our natural resources at an unsustainable rate.
Refurbished smartphones require much fewer raw materials (50.93 lbs or 23.1 kg if you replace the battery or the screen) and actually help us get the most out of the resources that have already been exploited.
3. A refurbished smartphone prevents 170.4 lbs (77.31 kg) of carbon emissions
Given the amount of energy and resources manufacturing a new smartphone requires, it’s no surprise that around 90% of a device’s carbon footprint is emitted before it ever leaves the factory.
For a new smartphone, that’s 186.1 lbs (84.4 kg) of carbon emissions — which is like driving roundtrip from Houston to Dallas.
A refurbished smartphone produces 15.6 (7.1 kg) of CO2e, from end-to-end. That includes the entire repair lifecycle (from sourcing spare parts to delivery).
4. A refurbished smartphone saves 20,341.24 gallons (77,000 liters) of water
That’s enough water to get your daily recommended 8 glasses of water (2 liters) a day for 103 years.
To put it into perspective, a brand new smartphone sucks about 112 human-years-worth of drinking water (23,537.73 gallons or 89,100 liters), most of which is used for mining and extracting raw materials.
By going refurbished you’re using 86.4% less water. Plus, you might also be earning some karma points for giving back to the fountain of life.
Buying a refurbished smartphone isn’t going to save the world, but it looks like it can help.
There’s a lot going wrong when it comes to how the world manufactures and consumes smartphones. But thanks to this new study, we can say with some certainty that it’s possible to make a difference without too much effort.
Buying refurbished is a small gesture that can have a significant collective impact on climate change. Maybe it’s time to give it a go.
There’s a lot going wrong when it comes to how the world manufactures and consumes smartphones. But thanks to this new study, we can say with some certainty that it’s possible to make a difference without too much effort.
Buying refurbished is a small gesture that can have a significant collective impact on climate change. Maybe it’s time to give it a go.
Published on 24 May, 2024 - Apple released its possibly sleekest iPhone model in September 2019, the iPhone 11. This, along with the iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max, make up the 11th gen iPhone family, following on from the iPhone XS. With the price dropping after the release of the iPhone 12 and the specs still incredible, it's a no brainer of a phone choice. The only real question you have to ask yourself is which model to choose.
Published on 30 April, 2024 - The iPhone XR is the 10th generation of the Apple iPhone and offers high performance, which is comparable to the iPhone XS. Deciding on which iPhone to buy and wondering about their differences? Then read our in-depth comparison between the two iPhones below.
If you're thinking of buying the iPhone 13 Pro in the near future, don't be too hasty. If the choice of colour is up to you, depending on your taste, the choice of storage capacity should not be neglected, as it depends on your use of the smartphone. It is this storage capacity that will also determine the price of your device. The higher the capacity, the more expensive it will be, so don't make a mistake. Let's see in this article which storage capacity to choose for your iPhone 13 Pro according to your needs.
Published on 1 May, 2024 - Is it worth buying a refurbished MacBook Air?
Published on 10 May 2024 - Ah! So you want a portable computer, and have settled on the gold standard of laptops, Apple's cherished MacBook Pro collection. Great choice! Pretty back-lit keyboards.. a smooth multi-touch trackpad, and an overall enjoyable user experience. What's even better? Apple has abandoned those flimsy Butterfly keyboards (a carpal nightmare, weren't they?) and replaced them with the super intuitive Magic Touch Keyboards.
Published on 12 April, 2024 - Which Galaxy series will melt your refurbished heart?
One of the cheapest Apple Watches of the year - but is it still worth buying in 2022?
In June 2020, not long after a certain global pandemic, COVID-19, disrupted life as we knew it, Sony announced their new games console. It is, of course, the PS5, due for release at the end of the year. Along with the release of the Xbox Series X, 2020 was undoubtedly the year of the next-gen! And it's also the perfect time to check out the previous generation of consoles from Sony, the PS4, and its more advanced editions, the PS4 Slim (more compact) and PS4 Pro (more powerful). Why is now a good time to consider the PS4? Put simply, the video game catalogue for this console is excellent, and prices are always lower when a new model is released, as is the case with the iPhone. You could also double your savings by opting for a refurbished PS4 instead of buying new. The price will be even lower than for a new PS4, and you'll save a few kilos of electronic parts from going to waste. Sounds tempting? Sony offers three versions of this games console; the "standard" PS4 (2013), and the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro (both 2016). So, which one should you choose?
Futuristic and modern: A galactic hit!
Published Apr 19, 2023 - Want proof that refurbished tech is better for the planet? Coming right up.
iPhone 11 vs 12 vs 13: the decision was not difficult for us.
Published Mar 3, 2023 - It can be easy to get refurbished and used electronics confused. But there’s a big difference — we break it down, below.
Published March 28, 2024 - Thinking about getting a Samsung Galaxy S22 phone but not sure which to get of the three? Let our quick guide help you decide.
Can you believe the first iPhone was only released in 2007? Neither can we. It feels as though our beloved Apple iPhone handsets have been glued to hands for life. :D For those of us who are die-hard Apple fans, the only real question is which iPhone to choose. Looking to save a bit of cash into the bargain ? Welcome to the wonderful world of Back Market, where we'll save you serious money on the best value iPhones available. Let's dig deeper into this joyous world of affordable premium technology...
Published on 30 May, 2024 - Thinking about buying one of the iPhone 12 models from 2020 but not sure which one? We will help you find out whether the iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max or 12 mini is the right one for you.
Published on 24 April, 2024 - What to check when buying a refurbished laptop.
