I used to have a whole drawer of old cables, phone chargers from models I haven't touched in many years, spare HDMI cords, and even a tangle of Ethernet cables. It wasn't just me being lazy; I figured one day I may need them.
But obviously, that day never comes because of technological advancements. Turns out, old gadgets are really not things you'd ever use someday. If it brings you memories, sure, keep it for that purpose. Other than that, trust me, it's just garbage.
Well, would you believe it? That rubbish is now worth something.
It seems those cables that I presumed no good and assumed to be waste actually have copper inside them, a metal in scarce supply. Copper in these abandoned, never-will-use cables can help meet a large fraction of the demand from renewable energy projects. We are talking about the equivalent of contributing towards 30% of the copper needed for the UK's de-carbonized grid until 2030. And yet, millions of us are sitting on this resource without realizing it.
You see, mining copper has an environmental and social cost, and hence, if we recycle even a fraction of these "drawer of doom" cables, it could make all the difference.
I am not talking about cleaning out clutter; I am urging us to take part in a much greater and needed change. Since then, I have cleaned out my drawer. I just hope others do the same now.