Don’t Have Green Electronics? Make Them Green!

If you didn’t purchase the latest in green electronics, you can make them green quite easily.  Powering your electronics with rechargeable batteries makes all of your electronics eco-friendly.

Every year in the world 15 billion batteries are manufactured.  Only a very small fraction of the batteries made are from recycled batteries.  It takes a whole lot of fossil fuels and other resources to manufacture batteries and most people just toss them in the trash when the batteries have kicked the bucket.

Batteries are recyclable and there are more and more battery recycling plants popping up as people begin to realize that they can make a good impact on the environment by not throwing them away.  But even the process of recycling batteries uses up our resources at an alarming rate; just not as alarming as making new batteries.

Make a small investment into some rechargeable batteries and a battery charger.  A good battery charger will cost less than $50.  Rechargeable batteries are more expensive than alkaline batteries, but they will pay for themselves the first time you recharge and reuse them.  And you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars replacing all of your batteries with rechargeable ones right away.  Have some on hand and replace the old batteries in your electronics as they die.

A note about rechargeable batteries that you should be aware of.  Rechargeable batteries will lose anywhere from 15% to 60% of their power within a month of sitting around in storage.  One way to keep your rechargeable batteries good and powered up is to store them in the freezer.  Heat makes the power drain faster.  Just make sure to allow the batteries to sit for a while when you take them out of the freezer.  You want them to be at room temperature when you put them into your electronics.

There are two kinds of rechargeable batteries to look for.  Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are used for things like notebook computers and cell phones, and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, which are usually standard sized batteries like AA and D.  Anything else is a disposable battery and won’t charge in your battery charger no matter how long you leave them in.

Going Green with Electronics

Think you need to install expensive solar panels to your house and buy an electric car to go green?  You can do these things if you can afford to, of course, but you can be green by making some simple changes with your electronics.  Green electronics are now available around the world with energy efficient use and by being made using less chemicals and fossil fuels.  But how can you find green electronics?

Look for electronics like televisions and computers that have the Energy Star sticker on them.  This sticker means that these electronics will use less energy than the alternative.  That’s good news for you because less energy use means less carbon footprint, which means less of a utility bill each month.

Another way to green up your TV and computer is to put them on power strips and turn off the strip when they are not in use.  TV’s and their peripherals (DVD players, cable boxes, etc.) as well as computer peripherals go on standby mode when you turn them off.  Standby mode is not off and is still sucking the electricity from your wall sockets.  If they are on a power strip and the strip is off, then the electronics are off.  Here’s a scary fact, on average 40% of the electricity used in the home is used by electronics on standby mode.

On smaller electronics like PDA’s, notebook computers, and even cell phones, look for the EPEAT sticker.  EPEAT is the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, and means that the product has been assessed to be environmentally friendly.  Either it uses less energy or it was made in an eco-friendly way, or both.  EPEAT is more popular in Europe than in the United States right now, but it’s making its way into the hearts of green Americans.  The more we ask for EPEAT, the quicker it will become as easy to find as Energy Star.

If you really want to make an impact on the environment, buy your electronics used or refurbished.  Give them the long life they deserve and make sure that they don’t end up in a landfill somewhere.

Recycling Electronics Is One of the Best Ways to Go Green

Did you know that of all the hazardous waste in the world, 70% of it is electronics?  That doesn’t sound very environmentally friendly, does it?  There is a way to be green with your electronics that won’t cost you a dime and you can make a huge impact on the environment.  Recycle your electronics.

Recycling electronics is not as easy as recycling plastic bottles and tin cans.  You won’t see a big recycling bin that says “Cell Phones” on one side and “Laptops” on the other.  You will need to do a little research and find out where to take your dinosaur electronics when it’s time to say goodbye to them.

Cell phones are an easy recyclable.  Most cell phone stores will take your old cell phones and recycle them.  Many of the cell companies turn them into 911 only cells and give them out to the elderly and underprivileged.  They won’t be able to receive calls with them, and they can’t call their grandkids on them, but if they find themselves in need of emergency help, the cells will call 911 for them.  Recycling your old cell phones isn’t just saving the planet, but you could be saving a life.

If you don’t know where to recycle your electronics, try selling them using your newspaper classified ads or an online auction.  People will buy them even if they are broken because they use the parts.  You can even make a few dollars in the process.  When you’re buying your electronics, think about buying them used or refurbished, too.

Kids love electronic gadgets.  Pass your old electronics down to your kids if they still work.  Have you ever seen a preteen turn down a cell phone or a PDA?  It’s not likely to happen.  And the best part about giving the kids your old cell phones is that you can call them and tell them it’s time to come home.  Or, if you don’t like their friends, call them every five minutes just to bug them.

Recycling electronics may not be as easy a task as we would like it to be, but please don’t throw them away.  Electronics give off toxins when they are crushed in the landfills, which seep into the earth, which ends up in our water supplies and kills the fish.  If you can’t recycle your electronics, find another use for them or give them away.  It’s one of the best ways to go green.