Recent stats say that soon, there will be five to six times as many connected devices–such as smartphones and tablets–on Earth as there are people. That’s a lot of plastic, aluminum, and glass. And it’s also a lot of “rare earth elements” — raw materials that most of us have never heard of, yet are crucial in making the gadgets we love today.
The trouble is, we’re mining these rare earth elements slower than we can use them to meet the world’s growing collective gadget lust. Are our smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets in danger of extinction? Or can we find other materials to make them, or create cost-effective ways of recycling and reusing discarded devices?
While experts say we won’t run out of these materials any time in the coming decades, we can’t count on them to continue to be readily and cheaply available. So, we need to look seriously at alternative materials and manufacturing processes.
This fascinating infographic, created by UK-based Vouchercloud, digs deep into what makes up your gadgets, and whether or not these materials are sustainable.
(To enlarge the infographic, click on it to open a separate window, then click to enlarge.)
