In 2005, Americans owned nearly 3bn electronic products, from mobile phones to computers and television sets, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Increasingly rapid technological advances mean the life expectancy of this electronic equipment is growing ever shorter. Devices are discarded not because they are broken, but because better versions have superseded them. The big question arising from the throwaway culture is what to do with the old machines.

Part of this question is being answered by legislation. EU law now governs what manufacturers can put into their machines, with certain hazardous or toxic materials now banned. And the introduction of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive – and similar legislation in some US states – means companies are responsible for collecting and recycling unwanted equipment.