Why Buying Refurbished Helps The Environment

If you’re in the market for a new Mac or any computer or laptop for that matter, you’ve pretty much got two options; buying new or refurbished. The majority of people may decide all too quickly that buying new is the way to go, however, buying refurbished is a great way to save yourself some money without compromising on a quality device. The environment will thank you for it too…

Creating Less E-Waste

One of the largest growing waste streams globally and in the UK is electronic waste, otherwise known as e-waste. A growing trend within the tech industry sees brands release new models with new features more often than ever and users are usually quick to upgrade. This leads to perfectly functional and working computers being dumped in landfill. While it may sound surprising, computers and laptops are actually packed full of toxic chemicals and components that, if not disposed of and recycled properly, can cause serious harm to the surrounding environment. Over time, as these devices begin to pile up, chemicals such as mercury, lead and beryllium will start to leak out into the soil below. These chemicals will then begin to run into surrounding water sources, which can have adverse effects on surrounding ecosystems and wildlife.

When buying refurbished from a reputable seller you are not only extending the lifespan of these devices but you are ultimately helping to reduce the number of computers and laptops that are going to landfill and contributing to the e-waste problem. All while saving money on a quality product.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

While a new computer or laptop is technically more energy-efficient, it’s the energy used by the manufacturer that is actually causing the problem. It is said that four-fifths of the total energy consumed over a desktop computer’s lifetime is, in fact, during the production of the computer itself and only one-fifth is consumed during its use.

Core minerals need to be mined from the earth’s limited supply in order to construct certain components and this process uses a lot of energy, especially as they are being constantly extracted to keep up with demand. As well as the mining process, the manufacturing of computers and laptops causes a lot of water and air pollution as a by-product. As parts and components for new computers are made by multiple manufacturers, all over the world. It is, therefore, not just the manufacturing process that creates a great level of pollution but shipping and transporting these parts across the world to reach their final assembly destination will no doubt create a great deal of pollution too.

Buying refurbished, therefore, prevents the need for any more minerals to be extracted and new parts to be manufactured. Not only does this reduce pressure on the limited supply but also helps reduce the overall carbon footprint. Although the initial manufacturing and transportation processes have obviously already been carried out, there may still be some need to install new parts, however, this is much more likely to be a manual process. So again, buying refurbished is a much more carbon-efficient process when compared to manufacturing a brand new computer from scratch.

Buying Refurbished = Good

While we may be slightly biased when it comes to buying refurbished. Buying refurbished has plenty of positives and very few actual downsides at all! Price is one obvious benefit as refurbished computers and laptops are a lot less expensive when compared to their brand new counterparts, especially when it comes to Apple products. If you are at all worried about the condition of one of our refurbished Macs, you can rest assured that our refurbishment process is second to none. All of our products are comprehensively tested then tripled checked to make sure that everything is working accordingly. All of our products are assessed and assigned a condition label, varying from excellent, fair and good so that you know exactly what to expect before your Mac arrives. You can read more about our refurbishment process here.

If you’re still slightly reluctant to pull the trigger on a refurbished Mac, all of our items are covered by a standard, one year warranty. If you do have any problems with your Mac during the warranty period, we’ll find a solution and have your Mac up and running in no time.

When buying refurbished, not only do you get a quality product at a greater price, you can also feel good that you’re doing your little bit to help the planet. Whether it’s being responsible for limiting the amount of e-waste that ends up in landfill, conserving the world’s limited resources or reducing your carbon footprint, you can feel confident that the small change you made is having an impact. And whether you’ve realised it or not, many businesses and governments are actually beginning to move towards this way of thinking and have been doing so for many years now. The world will hopefully be in a much better place if all electronics manufacturers incorporated refurbishment into all of their processes