Where does your old phone actually go?
A free six-module course on the e-waste crisis, the circular economy, and what you can do about it. Written for high schoolers. Takes about three hours. No account needed to read it — make one if you want a certificate.
1 person has taken this course
6 modules · 24 lessons · ~3 hr 28 min of reading
The six modules
Module 1
The Drawer Problem
Why the average American's drawer of dead devices is part of a 62-million-tonne global problem.
4 lessons · ~32 min
Module 2
Where It Actually Goes
The four fates of e-waste, and why the US is unusual among wealthy nations.
4 lessons · ~36 min
Recommended after Module 1, but you can start here.
Module 3
The Circular Economy
From linear take-make-waste thinking to a repair-first hierarchy.
4 lessons · ~32 min
Coming soon — lessons being writtenRecommended after Module 2, but you can start here.
Module 4
Repair
What actually kills a laptop, and the four cheap fixes that bring it back.
4 lessons · ~40 min
Coming soon — lessons being writtenRecommended after Module 3, but you can start here.
Module 5
The Digital Divide
Who doesn't have a computer, and why refurbishment is an equity tool.
4 lessons · ~32 min
Coming soon — lessons being writtenRecommended after Module 4, but you can start here.
Module 6
Run Your Own Drive
Everything needed to organise a collection drive at your school or site.
4 lessons · ~36 min
Coming soon — lessons being writtenRecommended after Module 5, but you can start here.
What you’ll be able to do
- Audit your own home for unused electronics, and name the metals inside them.
- Follow a device to one of its four possible fates — and check whether a recycler is genuinely certified before you hand anything over.
- Explain why reuse beats recycling, and score a device you own on how repairable it is.
- Diagnose the four faults that usually kill a laptop, and price up the fix.
- Run a collection drive at your school or library, and hand devices on in a way that respects the person receiving them.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. All six modules, no cost, no advertising, and nothing held back for a paid tier.
Do I need an account?
Only for progress and certificates. Every lesson is readable without one — an account exists so your progress follows you between your phone and a school computer, and so there's a name to put on a certificate. Finish every lesson in a module and you can download a PDF certificate for it, carrying a code anyone can verify.
Can my teacher use this in class?
Yes. Use it in a lesson, project it, or set it as reading — no account, no licence and no permission needed. There's no downloadable lesson plan pack yet; when it's written it'll be linked here rather than announced before it exists.