MAY. 9 2022, PUBLISHED 2:27 P.M. ET

APPEARING IN GREENMATTERS

Although there are many contributing factors to air and water pollution, and climate change overall, a leading contributor is e-waste. Consumers are continuously tossing old electronics in the trash — as opposed to properly recycling them — which leaves quite a bit of toxic waste in landfills. But also, it wastes precious metals which could easily be reused for new electronics.

That's why climate scientists are pushing people to "mine e-waste," not planet Earth.