Factors behind E-waste//
　　A recent study/by the Federal Environment Agency in Germany/tried to uncover the factors/which brought about the present situation.// The findings suggest/that the lifespan of household appliances is getting shorter.// This is partly because consumers are demanding better products.// A third of all replacement purchases for household appliances/were motivated simply by desire for a better unit/while the old one still worked fine.// That proportion rose to 60 percent/when it came to televisions.// Old ones are replaced as outdated/even if they are still perfectly usable.//
　　More importantly,/the study reveals another concerning problem.// The results show/that the proportion of large household appliances/that needed to be replaced within five years of purchase/due to a defect/grew from 3.5 percent in 2004 to 8.3 percent in 2012.// The agency described that rise as “remarkable.”// Although the study has not provided any conclusive proof,/it speculates that manufacturers intentionally shorten the lives of products/to boost sales/—a strategy often referred to as “planned obsolescence.”// This simply means/to design a product with an intentionally limited lifespan.//