Advocacy groups in Philadelphia set up "e-waste" graveyard, push to "let us fix our stuff"

Calling attention to the growing problem of e-waste in Pennsylvania, environmental advocacy groups PennEnvironment and PennPIRG set up a "graveyard" in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Painted cardboard gravestones mourned the loss of functionality for several major pieces of tech that "died" in the past year, from the Belkin Wemo Smart Home Line, which the company disconnected from cloud and app support this year, to the Windows 10 operating system. 

Microsoft said it would end security support for Windows 10 in late 2025, spurring users to upgrade to Windows 11 — with many needing a new computer to upgrade to the newer OS.

From 13 older-model Kindle e-readers to Meta's Quest 1 VR headset, U.S. PIRG tracked e-waste across the country in 2026 and found over 100 consumer tech products that are no longer functioning and became e-waste "not because they broke but because the software behind them did."

A report from the group estimates the ending of cloud functionality, ceasing of updates or shutting down servers created 130 million pounds of e-waste in the past 12 years.

There would also be less e-waste if consumers had a smoother process to repair broken tech, the advocacy groups say. The Pennsylvania groups want to see a "right to repair" bill signed into law as a result.

House Bill 1512, which would require tech manufacturers to make digital repair manuals, parts and tools available to consumers and independent repair shops, passed in October 2025 and was referred to a committee in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Another proposed fix would be to require tech companies to say up front how long a company intends to support a product with cloud services.