[p51-remorse]

Let’s do some math to see if this qualifies as something to worry about. They say they’ve sold 4 million Picos. The packaging can get recycled, but let’s just assume every single Pico ends up in a landfill. How big a problem is that?

Datasheets say they’re 21x51mm. Looks like they’re on the order of 5mm deep. So 5.35mL per Pico.

Four million of these would be 5659 gallons of Picos, 756 cubic feet.

So you could take the e-waste of every Pico sold to date, and put it in a single 9.1ft cube in your garage.

I’d argue that this doesn’t qualify as something we shouldn’t spend time worrying about. There’s probably at least one Pico, maybe running a sign at some EPA office, doing more good for the environment than all the waste from all of them together is causing harm.

[arrosenberg]

The packaging and production waste is probably the bigger issue considering the efficacy of recycling and the knowledge that all the waste of production winds up in the Pacific ocean.

[p51-remorse]

Sounds like effort is best spent on improving those processes, then, rather than worrying about personal consumption that doesn’t move the needle.

[bigstrat2003]

Yes and no. On the one hand, fixing those processes is a much bigger impact, you're 100% correct. But on the other hand, I as an individual can do exactly nothing to affect it. While my personal environmental impact is much smaller, I actually can control it. So both are valuable to think about in different ways.

[arrosenberg]

Or do both? No one is telling you not to buy something you will use, but the OP was commenting about boards they purchased and never or rarely used. Being slightly more considerate about your use is free, and if more people do it, maybe it will move the needle a point or two.