Software eats the world - literally. What we can do save the planet from digital waste.

Do you think that digital waste is a big threat to nature?

When we think of waste, we usually imagine tons of old plastic. We see pictures of white beaches in paradise-like destinations that are trashed with old cans, empty chip bags, and dead birds that are stuck inside six-pack plastic rings – or we just think of the general rubbish and cigarette butts on the streets where we live.

But besides these well-known ecological disasters there is another one that most of us aren’t aware of as we don’t see it. The problem we are hinting at is so-called ‘digital waste’. As it is not tangible, it is not perceived as a threat – but it is a threat, and one that is getting bigger and bigger.

Out of sight, out of mind. Digital waste is a bigger threat to nature than most people think.

 Digital waste causes extremely high emissions and increases our energy consumption at the same time. We already addressed this issue in our article on cryptocurrencies and the environmental problems that come with them – go give it a read if you haven’t already.

But it doesn’t end here. People in general are owning more and more digital devices as we all live increasingly digital lifestyles. Especially since the Covid pandemic began, we have all been shifting as much of our work and private life into the digital world as possible. This helps to solve a lot of problems in our daily lives but unfortunately it lets digital waste grow exponentially. As tech evolves and becomes more powerful, we also need more computing power to run our devices.

We carry thousands of huge photo files with us on our smartphones. Imagine if we had to carry them, printed out.

Back in the day, a cell phone photo used to be a mini-file. Nowadays, our phones can store thousands of huge photo files in high professional quality. In the past, 128 MB used to be perceived as huge; today we calculate in TB.

Lately, another development has accelerated the problem of digital waste: Covid-19. For over a year many of us have been working remotely. Since the emissions office spaces used to cause are now caused in our own homes, the problem has shifted rather than been resolved. In addition, the daily video calls we have in our home-offices are responsible for an increase in digital waste emissions. We are streaming for hours every day: video, sound, shared presentations, other programs running in the background – all out of sight and out of mind.

What is the fastest way to produce 10g CO2? Just send an email!

As scientists, we believe in the explanatory power of numbers. So here is the data: an email (without an attachment) causes 10g of CO2. How many emails do you receive and send each day? Each week? Each month? A one-hour videocall causes about 150 to 1000g CO2 on average. How many video calls did you have this week?

Of course, emails and calls are important for human interaction so at least there’s a certain benefit that comes with it. Other digital waste is created by data that doesn’t add value at all. Stored data that is just there like old photos we never look at again,  or old emails we will never read again. They keep on causing emissions, just by existing. Added up, all the digital waste caused by the internet produces at least as much CO2 as the aviation industry.

Do you store tons of trash in your living room? Then why do you store tons of old data?

At Starlab we think it’s important to raise awareness of the problem of digital waste, and to offer solutions. That’s why we’ve collected a couple of green hacks to enable everyone to make a difference.

First of all, get rid of old data. Do you have old photos for instance that you don’t look at every day? Or maybe even never again? Delete them from your digital devices permanently. Or if you want to keep them, store them in your cloud.

Secondly, take care of your mailbox. Delete old emails, empty the trash bin, set up a spam filter, deactivate email notifications from your social media accounts, unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t read, and compress attachments before sending out an email. And while you’re at it, delete all the unused apps and programs from your smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Streaming is the biggest digital polluter of all. Why don’t we download again?

As mentioned before, video calls cause the highest emissions. So whenever possible, turn off your camera in a call and ask your team members to do the same. That alone saves up to 96 % CO2!

And when it comes to movies, shows and music that you consume more than once: stop streaming and start downloading again. Downloading and storing a file can, in fact, be more environmentally friendly if it’s data you consume on a regular basis that you would otherwise just keep streaming again and again.

Did you know: Streaming services like Netflix have a download option for mobile devices to watch shows and movies offline! And if you can’t do without streaming, then at least stream in a lower quality and save some digital waste.

Let’s clean up our digital world. Everyone can make a difference! And, if it’s possible for you, maybe close your browser now and shut down your digital device for today.