The digital lifecycle in UX: how your designs contribute to waste

Today, solutions make carbon emissions checks of digital products easily available, so why aren’t we dealing with the problem of waste?

(image source: ecograder.com)

A day in the life of waste

Take a good look at your kitchen and think about what you would consider

waste.

Your immediate attention will probably go to the rubbish bin. A quick glance inside confirms it: yoghurt cups, egg shells, and maybe some disposable items like straws or food wrappers.

But if you pause for a moment, other types of waste might start to appear. You suddenly remember that your fresh produce has been sitting around a bit too long, and the tips of its leaves are changing colour. The canned food has expired, and you wonder if it’s still safe to eat. Wait, there are even more unopened food items on the shelf.

Looking at the time, you realize you can’t possibly consume all the food, let alone prepare it for cooking. This is partly because one of your cooking appliances needs replacing, and another has been missing for months, leaving the rest of your utensils useless. In fact, you hardly spend much time in the kitchen since 80% of your time is either…