We’ve been busily telling you lots of ways to insure your e-waste doesn’t end up in the hands of a child in China or dumped at the bottom of a ditch in a developing country, and while all of those are valuable ideas and resources, there’s one fail-safe way to insure that your e-waste doesn’t go where it doesn’t belong: don’t create any. That’s a pretty tall order, but there are ways to cut back on the nasties without cutting consumer electronics out of your life. Here are some of our favorite ways.
1) Check out our tips for getting greener electronics [www.treehugger.com] that include easing back on computer energy use, rechargeable battery tips and crank & human power instead of grid power.
2) Greenpeace’s Green Electronics Guide [www.treehugger.com] grades many of the major electronics makers, with a focus on chemical use and material choice. Though it’s to be taken with a grain of salt, it will help cut back on toxics in your electronics.
3) Follow the lead of Electronic Crafts [www.treehugger.com] and designer Mouna Andraos, who is hard at work researching alternative, novel and sustainable ways to design electronic artifacts. This might be our favorite part: says, designer Andraos, “Where as no electronic components can be said to be sustainable per se, the Night Brights offer first and concrete steps towards more sustainable electronic designs. Behind the design of the Night Brights is also a belief in sharing insight on manufacturing processes and what the possibilities for designers might be when it comes to making things better and more sustainably. As such, the entire making process of the lights is open source and shared publicly online with step-by-step instructions. The intent is to help users and creators understand the technologies driving everyday electronics better, modify them to fit their real needs and possibly create new ones all together.”
4) MyGreenElectronics [www.treehugger.com] aims to be a resource for finding both electronics recycling and greener electronics local to your area. Working from the idea that electronics are both ubiquitous and helpful in our everyday lives, they don’t want you to quit using them (and certainly don’t want you to just throw them away); myGreenElectronics hopes to help you learn more about minimizing the environmental impact of these gadgets and toys through responsible use, reuse and recycling. They’ve also added a fourth “R” to the common Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra we’ve all heard a million times: Rethink, and we think that’s a biggie.
5) Follow these tips [www.treehugger.com] to extend the lives of rechargeable lithium ion batteries — the kind found in many cell phones, laptops, a new generation of electric cars, and other gadgets like iPods — even further.
6) Of course, a bevy of tips ‘n tricks can be found in our How to Green Your Electronics Guide [www.treehugger.com]. Greener electronics are better for everyone and everything, so best of luck getting greener and may your rechargeable batteries live long and (re)prosper!
