Throwaway society

In our 'throwaway society' which I find most disturbing and goes against the grain; I rebel and try to be as ‘green’ as possible, but it’s an uphill struggle. My mobile phone decided to give up the ghost and much to my regret I had to get a new one. I bought the same model I had before as it’s the most basic simple phone one could find, and importantly, the buttons are easy for me to use, with a large ridge around the phone, it flips open effortlessly despite poor dexterity in my fingers. What happened to electrical items that would continue to work for years, and if they did eventually break, one didn't think twice about having them fixed? There were always little work-shops where televisions, radios and such could be mended. Today I find it hard to accept that when a printer or microwave stops working, it is less expensive and ultimately quicker to simply throw the old item away and replace it with a new one. I don’t think this non-green logic can be justified, yet one might say I am guilty of being hypocritical to a degree, for when it comes to sterile medical equipment, I am more than happy that the items are disposable. The standards of hygiene can be kept first-rate due to throw away needles, and a whole array of small medical equipment used daily around the world. So while it pains me to throw away my old phone because no one will fix it, I am happy to know that every time I receive my I.V. enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, all the equipment is new and for one time use only.