Everything that we do somehow contribute to pollution so bitcoin mining should not be given an isolated case. Banks and other commercial institutions largely contribute to this pollution issue as well. But I believe with crypto usage, we somehow reduce the pollution that it create along the way. Just take for example, if you want to convert your crypto to fiat, you only need few transactions and you're good to go. Less paper trail, less docs, less incurred waste, less time consumed. So that alone will give you an idea how crypto can reduce the waste that we are generating by dealing with crypto. And with the miners on the works, we will incur even less time for our crypto transactions. Less energy is being utilized eventually.
Which is why most bank statements are now digitalised. There is no doubt that there are various tangible advantages that banks have over Bitcoin but with respect to the transaction volume verses the amount of pollution produced, traditional methods still champions crypto in this aspect.
Isn't this the same issue with a lot of computers? There are actually a lot of people who run computer recycling plants, and most of it comes down to plastic, and that's the main problem with computers and other stuff since it's extremely hard to dispose of them.
Not exactly. R-waste is a big problem in general but the fact that ASICs can only do one task makes it extremely inflexible and makes them obsolete faster. Farm's do not usually try to recycle them due to their high cost.