We asked ourselves from what number of books read the purchase of an e-reader is worthwhile from an ecological perspective. When preparing a life cycle assessment, the sub-processes of manufacturing the e-reader, its distribution, use and disposal must be considered (Öko-Institut e.V., 2011). Studies show that the manufacturing phase impacts the environment the most. More than 90 % of the cumulative energy expenditure as well as the greenhouse potential are caused in the manufacturing phase. The impact on the environment from the distribution of e-readers can be considered low due to mass transportation by overseas freighters or air freight. With proper disposal, this sub-process is also of little significance due to the possibility of recovering the copper and precious metals contained, such as gold, silver and palladium.
The use phase also contributes very little to the overall environmental impact for our e-readers’ long service life, which is essentially decided by the following factors:
- low power consumption,
- rugged design,
- high-quality batteries,
- professional repair service,
- compatibility with all usual e-book and image formats,
- true substitution of printed books,
- updateability of the software in use.
If comparing CO2 emissions of printed books with those of e-readers, an e-reader comes up to approx. 8 kg of CO2 equivalents as it consists of a lot of plastic and rare precious metals. A printed book of recycled paper, on the other hand, comes to approx. 1 kg.
That means to you:
From an e-book consumption of about ten books on, there is a positive environmental impact in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared to printed books. Or in other words: The production of ten printed books consumes just as much energy as the production of one e-reader.
Sources:
Öko-Institut Freiburg e.V. (2011): E-Book-Reader - Entwicklung der Vergabekriterien für ein klimaschutzbezogenes Umweltzeichen
Commercial Waste (2020): Electrical Waste - E-readers vs books: Which are better for the environment?
