--- title: Software Policies Can Fuel Waste | daily.dev description: A viral Reddit photo showing pallets of discarded government PCs highlights how software policies create massive e-waste. These computers are being thrown out... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/software-policies-can-fuel-waste-8b7xurjlm twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Software Policies Can Fuel Waste | daily.dev og:description: A viral Reddit photo showing pallets of discarded government PCs highlights how software policies create massive e-waste. These computers are being thrown out... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/software-policies-can-fuel-waste-8b7xurjlm og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/8b7xURjlm.png og:image:alt: Software Policies Can Fuel Waste og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Software Policies Can Fuel Waste **[openSUSE](https://daily.dev/sources/opensuse)** · 4 min read · 34 upvotes · 2 comments ## Summary A viral Reddit photo showing pallets of discarded government PCs highlights how software policies create massive e-waste. These computers are being thrown out not because they're broken, but because they can't upgrade to newer Windows versions, despite being capable of running Linux distributions like openSUSE. The article advocates for the "Public Money, Public Code" principle, arguing that government adoption of open-source software could reduce taxpayer costs, extend hardware lifecycles, and prevent environmental damage from toxic e-waste. With Windows 10 extended support ending in October 2026, the "End of 10" campaign promotes transitioning to Linux as a fiscally and environmentally responsible alternative. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@sonic66695** · 6 upvotes > As I am getting older I more appreciate hardware that can last longer and be repaired. I just stopped hunting latest and greatest and trying to use HW as longas possible. Most of the work can be done even on old computers and phones. Only issues usually is battery and software updates as mentioned in the article. **@xidib78169** · 1 upvotes > I don't believe Linux can save every computer slated for disposal, but the effort to try is important. DDR4 and DDR5 memory prices are skyrocketing, and HDD and SSD components are also expected to see chronic price increases going forward. Therefore, parts that are still usable should be repurposed as secondhand components for other machines. Linux is a realistic option for this purpose. However, in this unstable global situation, casually discarding computers for Windows doesn't seem like a good idea. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [EOL](https://daily.dev/posts/eol-gxab14xc0) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [How Linux Mint gave five “obsolete” library PCs a second life](https://daily.dev/posts/how-linux-mint-gave-five-obsolete-library-pcs-a-second-life-jo62bxcce) · All Things Open · 131 upvotes · 6 comments - [Linux desktops finally learned restraint, and that's the upgrade Windows still hasn't made](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-desktops-finally-learned-restraint-and-that-s-the-upgrade-windows-still-hasn-t-made-t7mutpawp) · XDA Developers · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [UK dept spent £312M moving to Win 10 as support D-day hits](https://daily.dev/posts/uk-dept-spent-312m-moving-to-win-10-as-support-d-day-hits-jdl8u0w3f) · The Register · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows), [#sustainability](https://daily.dev/tags/sustainability), [#opensuse](https://daily.dev/tags/opensuse) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/software-policies-can-fuel-waste-8b7xurjlm) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Software Policies Can Fuel Waste","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/software-policies-can-fuel-waste-8b7xurjlm","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/software-policies-can-fuel-waste-8b7xurjlm"},"datePublished":"2026-01-12T09:04:07.911Z","dateModified":"2026-01-12T09:04:31.632Z","description":"A viral Reddit photo showing pallets of discarded government PCs highlights how software policies create massive e-waste. 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I just stopped hunting latest and greatest and trying to use HW as longas possible. Most of the work can be done even on old computers and phones. Only issues usually is battery and software updates as mentioned in the article.","datePublished":"2026-01-16T08:02:59.382Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/8b7xURjlm#c-MxhgDMqVO","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Tomas","url":"https://daily.dev/sonic66695","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--iahAjD88--/f_auto/v1715338867/avatars/avatar_eMNgnIOuAfHtRDwZZvbCc"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":6}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I don’t believe Linux can save every computer slated for disposal, but the effort to try is important. DDR4 and DDR5 memory prices are skyrocketing, and HDD and SSD components are also expected to see chronic price increases going forward. 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