6 Steps To Greener Electronics
December 21, 2008 by Jennifer
During the holiday season, many folks acquire new electronics as gift, or go shopping for new because the sales are good right now. If this is you, make sure you take steps to green your electronic situation. e-waste is a hard thing to recycle so adding more into the flow, may not be your best option.
Think carefully about upgrades: Do you really need to upgrade to a bigger, newer, more flashy version? Flashy new stuff is overrated, especially if your old equipment works well. If you think you need more space, say on an iPod, you may not. Don’t tell me you listen to every song you own every day – transfer some old ones to your computer or another hard drive.
Can you fix it?: If you can fix your equipment for a decent price, you’ll expand its lifespan, save resources, and save cash. This is a choice to weigh carefully though. If you have a big appliance or electronic item, it might be better to buy a newer, more energy efficient version and recycle the old less energy efficient one.
Look at the company: Buy products that come from companies who have recycling programs in place. If you’re getting rid of something, check with the company for a program as well.
Buy energy efficient: Look for the Energy Star label. Not only is Energy Star good for you – saves you money and energy, but this label is a big plug for the earth. Because the label exists, manufacturers have a label to aim for. The label allows energy efficient products to be more prevalent, so buy them over non-Energy Star items.
Look to eBay: I’m not personally into eBay; all that bidding and stuff is confusing to me. However, eBay does have a cool Rethink Initiative going on. The Rethink site offers “Information, tools and solutions that make it easy – and even profitable – to find new users for idle computers and electronics, and responsibly recycle unwanted products.”
Recycle: After thinking a purchase through you can donate an older, but still working piece of equipment to a local non-profit or a company that will do this for you. You can also swap your equipment or give it to a recycling organization. If you don’t know where to recycle, Earth 911 is one of the best general recycling resources; they can help you find out how to recycle almost anything.
Bonus tip: brush up on your basic recycling terms: Recycling Terms You Should Know Part One and Part Two.
Are you getting new electronics this holiday season?