Argentine collective gives e-waste a new lease on life

Need a new gaming console? Just make one yourself with an old ventilator. Got an old payment terminal? Turn it into a camera.

- TOMÁS VIOLA

These are just some of the creations of Argentina's Cyber Dumpster Divers, a collective of ingenious tech aficionados who turn e-waste into new products.

“We experiment with technology by trying to recycle it and repurpose items that other people would simply throw away,” said Esteban Palladino, a musician who goes by the pseudonym Uctumi on social media.

“It’s a movement that has a charitable side, a techno-political side, and also a playful side,” he added.

Argentina produces an estimated 520,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year, making it fifth in the Americas after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Canada, according to a 2024 report by the UN Research Institute.

In 2022, the world generated a record 62 million tonnes, the report said.