Earth Day 2008: Are You Green?
This is a collection of small and simple tips that can produce big results if everyone takes advantage of them.
Paperless Billing
This was the top recommendation from nearly every company we spoke to. Rather than have your mobile network operator mail you a copy of your bill each month, elect to have it sent to you electronically via email. This cuts down on paper waste, mailing costs, gasoline consumption and more. Most carriers permit you to log into your account via the internet and set up paperless billing. Along with paperless billing, don't forget to pay your bill electronically as well. Rather than mail in a check each month, use your bank, or your carrier's services, to have your wireless bill paid automatically. The saves mailing costs on your end, and even more paper waste. Many banks offer free online bill paying. Take advantage!
Strip It Down
Cell phone chargers continue to draw energy when plugged into the wall even if not connected to a phone. When your phone is done charging, be sure to unplug your charger. This will cut down on your electric bill and conserve electricity. If you want to take it one step further, use a power strip. Plug all your devices that need to be charged into a power strip and charge them all at once. When your devices are done charging, simply turn off the power strip. This is a convenient way to save time and energy.
Nav It
Going somewhere new? Rather than winging it, try using your carriers' navigation service to get you from point A to point B without any unnecessary detours. This may be some self-serving advice from network operators--after all, you often have to pay them for navigation services--but it makes sense. Using mapping and GPS services can prevent you from getting lost...and wasting gas. We all know how expensive gas is these days. As the summer comes around and gas prices go up, spending 15 extra minutes driving around because you missed a turn to East Timbuktu is going to start adding up.
Recycle
Americans discard on average 40,000 cell phones every day — or 150 million phones a year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, producing 150 million cell phones would consume enough energy to power 285,000 homes for a year, and produce more than 258 million kilograms of carbon emissions. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 150 million phones contains $94 million of precious metals — not factoring the cost of recovery — including gold, platinum, silver, palladium and copper.
If that's not enough to convince you, ReCellular offers these five reasons to recycle.
1. Your old phone probably still works. More than half of the phones ReCellular receives are still functional, and can be refurbished and reused--often in developing countries.
2. They contain valuable materials. Recycling phone circuit boards yields more gold per ton than the average ton of ore from gold mine operations, as well as other precious metals.
3. They can be environmentally damaging. Like all rechargeable batteries, cell phones contain heavy metals and chemicals that can be toxic in landfills, and should always be recycled.
4. They are of value. ReCellular offers businesses up to $150 per phone, and their charitable donate-a-phone programs raised more than $8 million per year for non-profit organizations.
5. They're serving no purpose in the drawer. Really, what are you keeping those phones for? Send them in.
Recycling old phones is a great way to conserve, but be careful where you recycle. There are lots of programs and companies that offer to recycle your phone, including wireless network operators, but the proceeds and phones don't always go to the right people.
RIPmobile.com, for example, will pay your for your recycled mobile, accept the chargers and accessories, and donates more money to charities that some of the other recycling programs. Be sure to research and check ahead of time if the phones you want to send in will be accepted and not just tossed into the trash. Some other companies worth mentioning are Collective Good and ReCellular. Choose the company and program that you are most comfortable with.
Collective Good allows you to pick which charity the proceeds from your recycled phone go to. Some of the charities include the American Re Cross, the Humane Society,and Planned Parenthood. If you have strong convictions about issues X, Y or Z, perhaps Collective Good is the avenue for you.
ReCellular is the major recycling partner of some of the wireless network operators, including Verizon Wireless and AT&T. You can also choose to recycle directly with ReCellular. Its web site tells you how, and you can even use it to buy refurbished phones on the cheap.
Merciful heavens, whatever you do, don't throw your old phones out!
Be Choosey
If you want to keep your impact on the environment to a minimum, another way to do that is to pick businesses that are serious about being green. In other words, choose to spend your money on products from companies that have programs that you respect, or that mean something to you, or at least are doing as little to effect their environment as possible. Choosing with your feet (and dollars!) is the best way to send the message that you care. Every company has its own level of commitment to the environment. Do the research, find out which ones coincide with your own beliefs, and choose accordingly.
For a better idea of how companies stack on on the scale of greenness, check out this lovely ranking system from Greenpeace.
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