More than 53 million metric tons of electronic waste were accumulated worldwide in 2019. That is equivalent to 100 times the weight of the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. This is one consequence of rising consumption, the gradual digitalization of our lifestyles and the diminishing service lives of electrical appliances. But besides materials that are harmful to our health and the environment, electronic waste also contains valuable raw materials that can be sustainably reused.

Digital traffic on the Internet consumes as much CO2 as air traffic. I was very surprised to learn this. After all, we are always hearing that digitalization is helping us use resources more efficiently. So is digitalization more sustainable or not?