Cell phones may not be the first thing that pops in your head when you think about eco-consciousness, but they can actually be a great tool to help preserve the environment. Whether by buying a “green” phone or using the many sustainability apps available, you can make a difference. If you’re looking for a new phone and want it to be as green as possible, there’s a series of things that you should keep in mind.
1) Materials
Many phones on the market today are made of recycled materials. Samsung has been a pioneer in manufacturing phones made almost entirely of waste material, such as the Galaxy Exhilarate, the Replenish and the Evergreen. These models are also much cheaper than the latest iPhone. Make sure that you always research the options out there, many websites exist that can help you compare prices and information like GreenMatch. If you want to really step up your game, you could consider buying a solar-powered phone such as the Micromax, which is also very cheap (around 40$) because it was created for developing areas with low access to electricity.
2) Battery
Charging your phone every few hours does the environment (and you) no favors. The longer your phone’s battery lasts, the more energy efficient you’re going to be. Plus, you won’t have to worry about your phone abandoning you mid-day. Some phones, such as the Evergreen, also notify you when they’re done charging, so that you don’t waste any energy.
3) Multi-functionality
The more functionalities your smartphone includes, the fewer gadgets you will need to use on the side. If your phone has a good camera, radio, calculator, maps et cetera, you won’t need to buy any extra devices. By consolidating all of your gadgets in one, your impact on the environment will inevitably be lower.
4) Buy used
Producing a cell phone always requires the use of hazardous materials and fossil fuels, so buying an old one means helping generate a little less pollution. Nowadays, people tend to replace their phone just to get the latest upgrade, regardless of whether it’s broken or malfunctioning. Many individuals choose to sell their cell phones to Green Buyback to help them recover cash and protect the environment. That means the market is full of hardly used phones you can buy, thus extending their life and helping lower the disastrous amount of e-waste.
5) Don’t forget to recycle!
If you made up your mind about which new phone to buy, it’s now time for you to decide what to do about the old one. That decision is an easy one: recycle. You can sell your old phone back for cash, even if it’s broken. It makes absolutely no sense to simply trash your phone, when you could easily sell it. Even if it’s not worth much, you’ll still be doing the environment a favor by not contributing to e-waste and pollution.
