Yesterday I bought a new digital camera for my upcoming travels. I told myself that I need it for work, because images have been a key aspect of the project I’ve been doing for the past few years studying technology use in workplaces and homes. But really I’d been noticing how important photos are to sustaining links with my family, which is spread across several states. Photos give us a sense of intimacy and connection when it’s not physically possible.

Unpacking the camera last night, and feeling the usual sense of awkwardness about what to do with the packaging, cords and instructions that came with it, I decided to confront myself about this notion that I don’t buy very much technology. I set out to discover how much e-waste is in my house already.

I gathered together everything I could find, in cupboards, drawers and unpacked boxes, that relates to media or communication. The only criteria was that it wasn’t being used anymore.

This is the result.

This table of stuff is what I have even after throwing out an old record player, TV and VCR in Brisbane’s hard-rubbish collections last year. I’ve also sent 2 phones and 3 batteries to the Mobile Muster campaign which I hope lots of people already know about. I had to put the videos and cassettes on the floor so that you wouldn’t see my music taste but also so that I didn’t cover the ridiculous amounts of cords, CDs, floppy disks and adapters.

Lots of these things are kept for emotional reasons: as back-ups just in case the current laptop breaks, or I can’t find a file that I may need, one day. Often they stay because I’m too busy (?? lazy) to transfer and save things “properly”: as if there will ever be one way to save everything without it also becoming obsolete.

Other things (the Walkman! the cass-single!) I keep as historical artefacts; as material objects as well as the fact that they remind me of the times and places I’ve used them. I don’t want the idea of them and what they represent to disappear from my life. Like books, they contain experiences I tell myself I will revisit.

But the bulk of it stays because I feel bad throwing it away. That’s certainly true for the 2 extra pairs of earplugs I found this morning that are the result of recent plane trips. I would estimate about 8 pairs of such earplugs lie in various bags around the house for this reason, and precisely none of them make my ipod sound any good.

What do I do with this? Where can I take all of this stuff so that it can be re-used or disposed of responsibly? What do the companies say? What does the government and local council say?

I wonder: can we start a movement to have more of these answers common sense, consistent across states, and easy to find? Can we begin to demand optional extras with our devices (USB cords, for instance), compulsory recycling of packaging and materials, and dedicated facilities and organisations to implement our demands? What can all of us do to make sure we realise the amount of toxic waste in our homes?

This is my first and only attempt at a meme. The instructions are:

Find every piece of technology in your house related to media or communication that you aren’t currently using. Put it on a table. Take a photo. Send it to my email address, or if you blog, trackback to this post. I will share the photos here and compile a report to send to authorities and companies you identify. If you are in Australia or America, Kingston or Kentish Town, Tokyo or Toronto – will you do this? And ask your friends and family to as well. I think it could be amazing what we find, and the conversations we might start. You will also teach me something that “new media” studies currently doesn’t.