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Written by Lindsay Crowder   
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Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Green Electronics

Electronics are finding their way into more and more households across the world. They can be used as tools or as toys, for work or for pleasure. Sometimes they come in the form of a large flat-screen TV, other times they can be as small as a pocket-sized iPod. Often, electronics allow us to perform tasks more efficiently, communicate with each other more effectively, and access information effortlessly. Aside from the endless benefits that advanced technology has afforded us, the progress comes with a large environmental footprint. Many electronics can use an unnecessary amount of energy and over 40 percent of that energy is consumed when the devices are turned off. Moreover, as we constantly strive to keep up with the latest models on the market, the old electronic devices end up in our landfills accounting for 70 percent of all hazardous waste in the United States. Below are some simple solutions to make your electronic use a little more eco-friendly.
  • Minimize vampire power… Vampire power, or “standby power,” is the electricity consumed by devices when they are plugged in but turned off or in standby mode. As noted above, vampire power accounts for about 40 percent of the energy consumed by electronics. In order to reduce this wasted energy, unplug devices when not in use. Another, more simple approach is to plug all of your electronic devices into a power strip. When not in use, switch the power strip off or unplug it completely.

  • Look for rechargeables! Over 15 billion batteries are sold each year to power our electronics, but most of them are disposable and few of them are recycled. Look for rechargeable electronics—it will save the environment a lot a manufacturing and battery waste. For more information on batteries, check out: http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Battery-Recycling-and-Disposal-for-your-Household.html.

  • Buy used or extend your use. At the rate that technology is advancing, it seems like new devices are coming out every week. In order to keep up with the latest trends, many perfectly functional electronics are ending up in landfills as hazardous waste. Using services like craigslist.org, ebay.com, or freecycle.org, you can find high-quality, used electronics that will not require new materials to be made and will be saved from ending up in the landfill. Also, try to extend the use of your electronics. Constantly replacing electronics with new models creates an enormous amount of waste, both in the manufacturing of new materials, and the discarding of old ones.

  • Support green companies. If you are in the market for new electronics, it is easy to make that experience more sustainable by supporting companies that take the environment into consideration. Greenpeace released the Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. Some of the front-runners include Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Philips, and Apple. To see the full guide, go to: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up.

  • Support green products. Aside from supporting companies that support the environment, you can also make your electronic experience more sustainable by purchasing products that are specifically energy efficient. Look for ENERGY STAR certified products—a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy—helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. For desktop and laptop computers, thin clients, workstations and computer monitors look for the EPEAT label—EPEAT is a system that helps purchasers evaluate, compare and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. Or you can browse http://www.greenelectronics.com/ for products from leading brands that are more energy efficient and less harmful to the environment.

  • Recycle e-waste! E-waste refers to discarded, surplus, obsolete, or broken electrical or electronic devices. They are often found in landfills and considered hazardous due to the amount of toxins, contaminates, heavy metals, and other pollutants they release when discarded. Many manufacturing companies will recycle an electronic device when no longer in use and many stores or other distribution centers offer electronic recycling. To find an e-waste recycling center near you, go to: http://earth911.com/.


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1 http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/home-electronics/home-electronics-statistics.html
2 Id.
3 http://www.energystar.gov/
4 http://epeat.net/




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Green Facts

  • 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.

  • It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.

  • You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.

  • States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.

  • Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

  • A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.

  • Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.

  • You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.

  • Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months

  • Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.

  • Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.

  • Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.

  • A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

  • A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.

  • Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.

  • In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.

  • One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.

  • Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.

  • Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.

  • Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

  • Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.

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  • If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.

  • Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.

  • An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!

  • Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.

  • In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.

  • Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.

  • Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.

  • Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.

  • 77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.

  • The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.

  • Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.

  • Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.

  • Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

  • American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.

  • You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.

  • A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.

  • Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.