Enjoying Your Gadgets the Eco Way

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Enjoying Your Gadgets the Eco Way

Posted by The Greenster Team on May 7, 2009 in Tech

The following is a guest post from Elise Degrass.

If you’re like most modern living people, you love your gadgets. Whether it be a new cell phone, an MP3 player, or a great new laptop computer, we’re all surrounded by gadgets big and small that increasingly play an everyday part of our life.

But did you ever stop to think about the impact these gadgets have? The iPhone, for example, is made of raw materials that are mined from the ground (different types of metal). It’s then built and put together at massive factories that create pollution, waste, and other things bad for the environment. That really dampens the iPhone experience – what earth conscious individual wants to be a part of that?

Luckily, there are a few ways to lessen your impact when buying gadgets, and therefore offsetting any damage you may be causing:

Recycle your gadgets – almost any gadget can now be recycled, from small cell phone all the way up to refrigerators and air conditioning units. The EPA website at http://www.epa.gov is a great resource for all things recycling.
Wait a bit before upgrading – just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. Maximize the use of of your current tools before deciding to buy a newer, “better” gadget. The earth will thank you for it.
Buy Carbon Credits – while this is for the more die hard eco-lover, you can buy carbon credits to offset the excess carbon created by the factor. Most sites offer a guide or baseline so you know how many credits to buy.

All in all, gadgets are a great thing – just make sure to use them responsibly and keep mother earth in mind.

Elise Degrass writes about gadgets, cell phones and technology for the Mobile Maven. She can be reached at elise.degrass at gmail.com

Photo Source: Gaetan Lee via Creative Commons

Written by The Greenster Team

Buy PSP Go says:

June 26, 2009 at 4:29 pm

It is shocking how few people know that they can recycle their old gadgets.

The more people recycle, the more is invested in this technology and the more efficient it become! Good points all round!

Online bidding says:

May 25, 2009 at 9:22 am

Even I feel it’s not necessary for us to upgrade to a new phone if we have a mobile phone that is working. There are some people who like collecting mobile phones however I feel they are not aware of how the environment can be affected because of this. I feel recycling is a good option.

social networking philippines says:

May 10, 2009 at 9:20 pm

I agree with you that we should be mindful when buying gadgets.In addition,we should follow some guidelines on how to dispose it properly. thanks for the great info!

wilson says:

May 10, 2009 at 2:28 am

Hmm…, the Carbon Credits method sounds pretty cool to me, as I never heard it before!

lee says:

May 7, 2009 at 8:21 pm

I waited nearly 4 years before upgrading my cell phone. My friends were joking with me about my old phone that could barely text message. But I was waiting until some of the new stuff that was being done on cell phones got better. I still haven’t thrown my old phone away because I might need it if something happens to this one. I kind of feel good about myself for that…I mean…that’s pretty much eco friendly, right?

Eriuqs Spires says:

May 7, 2009 at 6:01 pm

Yeah I’m guilty! I just love gadgets and how we consider recycling it? I think I can trade-in my old cellphones to some stores but the battery, I don’t know if there is somewhere here in our place that cares for it to be recycled. I hope our government will be more serious about this as in its effect to the environment.

Stephanie - Green SAHM says:

May 7, 2009 at 5:51 pm

I try to avoid getting new gadgets for as long as possible. My cell phone is about due, being 4 years old and having a battery that barely holds a charge anymore. Kind of sad that you can often get a better deal on a new cell phone than a new cell phone battery, but there it is.

pays to live green says:

May 7, 2009 at 5:03 pm

Another great idea is to sell your gadgets so they get reused instead of simply ending up in a landfill. Check out places like Gazelle or Amazon to recycle items from your home.

Addiction-Recovery-News index says:

May 7, 2009 at 4:53 pm

I usually keep something until I don’t want to look at it any more then I give it away.

Sami - Life, Laughs & Lemmings says:

May 7, 2009 at 4:32 pm

I’m generally a “less is more” kinda girl but if I have no further use for something, I always either sell it or give it away for someone else to use.

Carrie says:

May 7, 2009 at 2:48 pm

I’ve found that any and all electronics regardless of condition (though it needs to be properly described) will sell on eBay. Not only do you get some cash back in your pocket, but someone else is reusing it (either using it partly broken or putting the parts together with the parts of other broken gadgets to make new working ones). It’s a great way to recycle those gadgets.

Writer Dad says:

May 7, 2009 at 1:03 pm

I let my little ones play with my old gadgets. They like pretending that they’re daddy. It’s kind of cute. Then, when they’re not looking – it’s off to recycle island.