Refurbished electrical appliances, so-called “refurbished” smartphones or laptops, have a better ecological balance than new appliances. This is the conclusion of a study by research agency Fraunhofer Austria commissioned by internet marketplace refurbed, which specializes in used electronics. According to this, buying a refurbished mobile phone or laptop instead of a new device saves up to 83 percent of emissions. Water consumption is reduced by up to 91 percent.
Data on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and e-waste for the Apple iPhone 11, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, the Apple iPad Pro 4 2020, the Apple MacBook Air 2017 13.3 and the Lenovo Thinkpad T460 i5 have been examined and compared, according to a broadcast on Wednesday from . The models were chosen because of the high sales figures on the renewed platform or because of the good availability of comparative data on the ecological impact.
Making an iPhone releases 57 kilograms of CO2
According to Fraunhofer Austria, the production of a new Apple iPhone 11 causes about 57 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and CO2 equivalents). Refurbishing an iPhone 11, on the other hand, would only emit about 2.8 kilograms of greenhouse gas. The research firm estimates the total footprint of the new device, including material production, transportation and consumer use, at 72 kilograms. The refurbished iPhone 11, on the other hand, has a total capacity of about 16 kilograms. The CO2 savings vary between the different product categories and are between 69 percent for the refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad T460 i5 and 83 percent for the Apple MacBook Air 2017.
In terms of water consumption, refurbished appliances perform significantly better than new appliances. Producing a new iPhone uses about 12,000 liters of water, and about 1,700 liters of water are needed to recycle the same device. Water consumption is thus reduced by 86 percent. In fact, the new production of an Apple MacBook Air 2017 13.3 requires about 57,000 liters of water, the general overhaul consumes about 5,400 liters with 91 percent less.
In addition, there is less electronic waste when buying a refurbished device. For example, if you buy a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, you save about 60 percent in electronic waste compared to a new device, and the savings potential for the 2017 Apple MacBook Air is about 80 percent.
“The special thing about these results is that we made a comprehensive consideration of all effective areas – Scope 1, 2 and 3,” said study co-author Paul Rudorf of Fraunhofer Austria. The research firm has thus “calculated a quantity that quantifies the true impact of a product on our planet”.
“Nevertheless, such figures should not be taken as a license to consume more carefree,” said renovation co-founder Peter Windischhofer, calling for better political framework conditions for the repair and recycling of products. Refurbed was founded in Vienna in 2017 and sells refurbished electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops, as well as household appliances and sports equipment. The company is currently represented in seven countries, in addition to Austria and Germany, also in Sweden and Italy.
Source: Krone
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