With technology and community taking up such a large portion of our lives, it was suggested to me by my friend Jordan that I discuss the e-waste that comes with our techy lifestyles.
According to Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, authors of “The Green Book”, electronic waste is the fastest-growing segment of municipal landfills around the world.
About 130 million, yes, 130 million, cell phones are thrown out each year. It is predicted that soon there will be as many cell phones purchased as there will be discarded.
Adding up our cell phones, computer monitors, hard drives, old fax machines, telephones, televisions, CD/DVD players, answering machines and printers leaves us with a lot of e-waste and wondering what to do with it all.
Jordan mentioned he upgraded to a new cell phone recently and was going to “toss” his old phone away until he realized it was e-waste, which is unlike our regular trash we take out weekly.
I suggested he donate it to a local charity and take the write-off on his taxes, get hard money for it from a recycler, or go to the local office supply store which usually has a place to recycle the phone and battery it comes with.
There are recycling centers in your town that will take your e-waste.
Or you can start a fundraiser for your local school or charity, and if you don’t have the energy for that, bring your e-waste to a local fundraiser.
E-waste doesn’t necessarily encompass only electronic items either. It also has by-products such as the energy used to make our technological gadgets function, enhance or make them more efficient.
Take power strips, did you know there are power strips with auto switching? This means the strip automatically shuts down when the primary appliance is turned off.
This can save up to four kilowatts of energy per day, said Rogers and Kostigen. Enough to power 40,000 homes for a year if every home in America switched to more efficient power strips.
When possible, try to use Blu-ray discs. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of a traditional CD and are half made of paper so they can be shredded, making disposing of them much easier.
Go to voicemail rather than use an answering machine. Answering machines use energy all day and night, whether you use them or not.
Download your software and eliminate CDs, including all the packaging they come in. Not only does this eliminate trash it will save you money.
High speed Internet is faster and more efficient if you can receive it. This will ultimately save you money and time in the long run.
Text or e-mail from a handheld device as they use less energy than your computer.
Remember to get rid of your e-waste properly and keep your electrical bills smaller by doing things differently.
Kristi Meyer is a real estate agent with HomeTown Realtors in Auburn. For questions,
comments or tips, contact Meyer at seekristi@seehometown.com.
