Digital waste is a problem that can be easily overlooked. "People don't realise exactly what it is, what footprint it leaves, and there are no visible consequences when it accumulates – except in some cases when the storage limit is reached," explains Mirjam Virosiim-Kuhi, Head of the Legal and Procurement Department at RIT.
What is digital waste?
Similar to our natural environment, the digital world is also filled with waste – unnecessary emails, files, and applications. "If you take ten photos with your phone instead of one, intending to choose the best later and forget to delete the extras, you have contributed to the generation of digital waste. Unnecessary videos also take up a lot of space," Virosiim-Kuhi gives an example of common digital waste.
Storing all these files requires energy, even if we have long forgotten about them. According to some calculations, digital waste produces as many greenhouse gases as the entire world's air traffic. "Therefore, every individual can do a lot to improve the environment by simply deleting unnecessary files and emails. That's why we at the Estonian IT Centre have also joined the Digital Cleanup Day to make our contribution and set an example for everyone else," says Virosiim-Kuhi, adding that if all Estonians deleted 500 emails from their inboxes, it would save enough energy to light a small LED bulb for a million days.
What is RIT doing to reduce digital waste?
"We found that there are about 5 million emails in the mailboxes of Estonian IT Centre employees," says Virosiim-Kuhi. "The problem lies in various informational letters, newsletters, training materials, and other large files in inboxes like slides. Often, files are sent as attachments instead of a link to their location. All these emails tend to stay in employees' inboxes, and they are only deleted when the storage limit is about to be reached, although it would be sensible to regularly empty the mailbox."
The project manager for digital waste reduction at the Estonian IT Centre says that interviews were conducted with employees. "It was revealed that deleting unnecessary emails and keeping the mailbox and folders in order gives employees a sense of satisfaction because information is more easily accessible," she explains.
The Estonian IT Centre has now compiled recommendations for its employees to draw attention to reducing digital waste and changing behaviour. "We start with emails; these tips are universal, and everyone can do a lot for the environment by keeping them in mind," says Virosiim-Kuhi and shares some tips:
- Delete emails immediately (newsletters you have read, thank-you emails, and other one-time content emails).
- Occasionally, organise emails by size and delete the largest ones.
- Don't attach files to emails; instead, provide a link to the file.
- When using Outlook, use the clean-up function to remove unnecessary files.
- Unsubscribe from newsletters you don't read.
- Use a logo in the signature only in the first email.
- Empty the drafts folder.
- In the lower-left corner of Outlook, you can see the mailbox's free space and the number of emails (quota information) – keep an eye on the numbers.
"We start by deleting emails that have no value and organising file folders, but there are more plans. It is important to understand that every small contribution and increase in awareness is a significant step towards reducing digital waste," says Virosiim-Kuhi. "In addition, we recommend regularly clearing the downloads folder, which usually contains files intended for temporary use."
