The biggest wildfires in history ravaged California and Australia last year, Siberia hit a record high of 38 degrees Celsius and the Arctic continues to melt.
Just days before Earth Day 2021, the UK government announced plans to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, from 1990 levels.
The push for a greener future is great, but what can we do to help, especially as consumers of technology? Here are some ideas to get you started.
On the other hand, do not hesitate to consult the best sustainable and ecological accessories for your mobile.
1. Recycle (or upgrade) your old technology
It may be obvious, but it is very important. Electronic waste is destroying the planet and Europe is one of the largest producers of electronic waste in the world. Electronic waste includes everything from plugs and cables to old laptops, appliances and phones.
A 2019 UN report found that the world produced 54 million tonnes of e-waste, and that amount was growing three times faster than the world’s population.
Our technology contains precious metals such as copper, iron, silver and gold which often go directly to landfills. The same UN report concludes that $ 14 billion of these precious metals are being thrown away.
To make matters worse, toxic elements in lithium-ion batteries, along with mercury and lead, also seep into the ground and pollute the air when burned, which is how they are typically disposed of. .
There are many ways to recycle your old devices. If it still works, see if you can donate it on sites like Freecycle or Milanuncios. You can also donate it to charity shops in your city. Attention, make sure to reset your device to factory settings first.
You can also recycle it. The Samsung Galaxy Upcycling program allows Galaxy phone owners to turn their old Samsung phones into smart home devices using the Smart Things app.
This allows you to breathe new life into your phone as a smart aquarium monitor or smart light switch. The video explains more about this:
If you’d rather make money, consider selling your old gadgets to services like MusicMagpie (or Declutter in the US) and iOutlet. MusicMagpie even accepts CDs and DVDs if you really want to do a spring cleaning.
On the other hand, if your device is simply dead and there is no hope that it will have a second life, you can responsibly recycle it at large distributors like MediaMarkt. Don’t forget to also check if your town hall accepts recycling of electronic waste on the street.
2. Buy renewed technology
Many tech brands are giving a big boost to expanding their offering of refurbished and refurbished products.
eBay launched a certified home improvement program in March 2021, which saves buyers up to 30% on premium brands like Dyson and Go Pro, and also includes a 12-month warranty. Here are some refurbished products that you can buy on eBay.
Likewise, Amazon Renewed is another destination for refurbished devices that look and work like new. Everything is backed by Amazon’s standard return policy and Amazon’s Renewal Guarantee.
The latter promises customers a full refund or replacement within one year of receipt of the product if it does not perform as expected.
You can also go directly to the manufacturer to purchase refurbished devices. Anything you buy from the Apple Refurbished Store or Samsung’s Certified Refurbished Store must go through rigorous quality standards direct from the manufacturer.
Any part that is not in good condition is completely replaced, making devices indistinguishable from newer ones, but cheaper (although not necessarily as cheap as ebay or Amazon).
3. View Netflix menus
This can be difficult – especially during a pandemic – but reducing the Diffusion it can help the environment.
The internet has a fairly large carbon footprint. Not only is energy required to run our devices and access wireless networks, but the huge data centers and server farms that support the Internet require a lot of energy to keep running.
Together, all of the world’s data centers can produce almost as much carbon dioxide as the airline industry.
One hour of Netflix generates 100g of CO2e, which is equivalent to a gasoline car traveling 400 meters. While that’s not much on its own, it does add up when multiplied by Netflix’s 203.6 million subscribers.
Netflix isn’t the only culprit, of course, as any streaming service is linked to producing carbon emissions. So the best thing you can do on Earth Day is pick up a book instead.
4. Say no to next day delivery
Everyone loves next day (or even same day) delivery, and even more so if it’s free with services like Amazon Prime. While it is undoubtedly comfortable, it is terrible for the environment.
Receiving items at home can be more environmentally friendly if the alternative is to drive to a store and return a single item; Delivery trucks, on the other hand, consolidate many orders into a single trip.
However, the problem with overnight shipments is precisely this: shipments are no longer consolidated. Warehouses do not have the ability to optimize deliveries because they have to ship items as soon as they arrive.
So the next time you order from Amazon or any online store, go for “no rush” delivery. The earth will thank you.
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