Engineers Call for 'Repairable' Cellphones to Save Money, Environment

Reduce, reuse and recycle is the foundation of sustainable living. However, it's time to add another "R" to the list — repair.

Repairing electronic devices is equally as important as the other three green watchwords, the IEEE, a professional association for engineers, said in a statement. But most manufacturers must first make their devices more "repairable," the statement said.

In 2013, more than 1.7 billion mobile phones will be shipped to retailers. Each phone uses 165 pounds of raw materials in its manufacture and more than eight gallons of water in the making of its microchip. Extending a phone's life to four years through "modest design changes," could reduce the device's environmental impact by about 40%, IEEE said. Read more...