Sustainable Consumers Must Take Major Steps to Lower E-Waste Crisis

How serious are you about trying to live a sustainable lifestyle? You might believe that you have taking all reasonable steps to minimize the damage that you are doing to the environment. Unfortunately, there might be a lot of things that you are overlooking. One issue that doesn’t get enough attention is the problem caused by electronic waste.

Eco-friendly consumers must take significant measures to minimize the e-waste crisis

There are many different things that need to be taken into consideration when you were trying to live a green lifestyle. Some of the steps that you can take to live a greener lifestyle are obvious. You should look into renewable energy and find ways to minimize driving with a traditional vehicle.

Fewer people think about the implications of e-waste. However, waste caused by the disposal of cell phones, computers and other electronic devices has a surprisingly devastating impact on the environment. Over $55 billion worth of electronic material is thrown out every year in the United States. This is higher than the GDP of many small countries.

If you are really committed to being an environmentally conscious consumer, then you must minimize the electronic waste that you generate every year. This is necessary to prevent landfills from being overfilled, chemicals leeching into the ground and water and precious metals from being wasted.

How can you do your part to reduce e-waste?

There are a number of steps that you can take to minimize the amount of electronic waste that you produce each year. Some ways to go green with computers are listed below. These tips will help you minimize electronic waste and save money at the same time.

Use computer recycling services

You will eventually need to get rid of your devices. There is no getting around the fact that they will eventually stop working.

You will have two options:

You should choose the second option. This will be a lot better for the planet, because the raw materials can be preserved and you will minimize landfill space. They may be able to recycle your keyboard as well as the rest of the computer.

Carefully vet your purchases first

You should always do your due diligence before making any purchase. Electronics are no exception.

You should start by deciding whether or not you really need a new electronic device. You might feel like you would like to upgrade to a new smartphone or tablet. However, it might be completely unnecessary to do so if you already have one that works just fine.

In some instances, it really is necessary to buy a new device. Unfortunately, it is fairly common for people to buy the wrong one. They might buy a new tablet that doesn’t have enough storage space. They might buy a new laptop computer that has a smaller keyboard than they were expecting and is missing some keys that are available on most other computers.

When you end up purchasing the wrong device, you might be tempted to replace it a lot sooner. This is obviously going to increase the amount of electronic waste that you produce.

It is very important to carefully review your purchases first. You don’t want to buy any electronic devices that you don’t need. They will probably end up in the landfill a lot sooner, which is not doing the planet any favors.

Use cases, screen protectors and other accessories to protect your devices from damage

One of the biggest reasons that electronic devices get thrown out is that they break before the end of their shelf-life. Most people are too frustrated to try repairing the device. In many cases, there is little that they could do to fix it to be usable again.

The number of damaged electronics that get thrown out make a significant contribution to the e-waste crisis. This is something that needs to be prevented at all possible costs.

Fortunately, there is a lot that you can do to reduce the risk that your electronic devices will be damaged. Some of the important steps that you can take include:

• Using a screen protector and Otter Box to protect your smartphone
• Keeping your computer in a case when it is not in use
• Cleaning your devices regularly to keep dust and other debris from collecting and damaging the circuitry
• Keeping your devices away from the edges of furniture to avoid the risk that they will fall
• Avoiding holding your smartphone when you are on the stairs or other places where it could drop

You need to think about all the ways that your devices can be damaged. The risk will be a lot lower if you prevent these possibilities.

Charging your devices properly

It is important to make sure that your devices are charged properly. Many people don’t realize the risks of draining the battery too much or overcharging it, but they can be significant.

As a rule of thumb, you should have your battery charged between 20% and 80% of its maximum charge. You will cause extensive damage to the battery if you leave your phone or computer plugged in all night.

Fortunately, some new devices have settings that minimize the risk of overcharging. They are supposed to slow the charge going through after it reaches 80%.

The problem is that the settings are imperfect. Your device will continue to overcharge if you leave them plugged in for hours on end, regardless of whether or not the settings are activated.

You need to pay attention to the battery on your devices and make sure that you are not charging the battery too much or leaving it drained.

Article Submitted By Community Writer