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Electronics Smart Shopping Guide
By Grow and Make Contributing Editor Kristina Strain
It's time for an honesty check. Think hard for a minute. How many dead cell phones are lurking in your nightstand? How many outmoded digital cameras haunt your home? Have you, perchance, an antediluvian hulk of a old computer skulking in your attic? Old electronics. Those gadgets collecting dust were once the height of hip, but their trendy, in-synch lives were brief. Wouldn't it be nice to break the cycle of constantly upgrading and updating your computers, printers, faxes, phones, cameras and musical devices? To buy stuff that lives longer than the average gerbil, or can be repaired, revamped, or easily recycled when the need arises? With this guide, you'll do just that.
"If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production." - City Council of Berkley
This quote is pretty much the heart of the matter. Why do companies sell things with such short life expectancies? Why do we buy them? Why do we put up with plunking down bucks for things that can't be repaired or reused? Once they're done, they're done. If they're not still reposing in the forgotten corners of your home, then they're headed on a one-way, no returns-refunds-or-exchanges trip to the dump. Where to begin?
First: Ditch the Hype
Of course, the main way to avoid having outmoded electronics to get rid of is to avoid buying them in the first place. This is sometimes easier said than done. I have a deep, fervent love for the laptop upon which I type, and my husband has almost the same relationship with his i-Pod. So don't deprive yourself. But do take steps to educate yourself about the smartest buys, and, if you can, wait until the crazed obsession with the latest gadget-of-the-minute has died down. Case in point: Remember the first i-Pods? Insanely expensive, full of kinks, not as much storage space as they have now... the list goes on. An of-the-moment, newly-introduced technology is never the perfected form. Wait a year, wait for the New and Improved Gadget 2.0 to appear. Who wants to bet we'll all be laughing at the 2010 version of the Kindle someday?
Do Your Homework
Read some reviews, too. Check out Consumer Reports, read stuff online, make sure you're choosing a quality product. Pick something that can be updated. Avoid, whenever possible, the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality that drives folks to line up in front of stores, waiting to be the First One in Their Town to have an I-Widget. When they look back in twenty years, will they think time well spent? Goodness only knows.
The Advantages of Buying Used
Another advantage to outlasting the Hype is: used ones will become available. Do some browsing on eBay, you'll be surprised at what you find. Buying a gently used electronic, often just last year's model, means a huge savings on packaging, labor, carbon, electricity, money... need I go on?
Consider the Life Cycle
In environmental lingo, there's an actual well-used acronym meaning just that. LCA: Life Cycle Assessment. For a paper bag, it might look like this:
Trees--> Paper mill --> Grocery store --> Home --> Recycling bin.
For a sleek electronic gadget, the view gets a little more cluttered. Let's see, we're taking Silicon Valley technology and imprinting it on microchips fashioned in India, sticking it inside a plastic case designed in Anaheim and manufactured in China, shipping it to approximately thirteen million stores worldwide-- take a moment to conceive of all the trains, planes, and enormous trans-Continental big rig hauls involved-- and selling them to cheerful customers driving on highways and parking on large expanses of asphalt. Am I alone here when I say yikes?
Use it Well, and Gently
If your beloved gadget is a computer, this takes the shape of security software, and twice-monthly de-frags. If it's a camera or an I-Pod or a Kindle, it might look more like a fuzzy sleeve. Computers crash, get viruses, and spontaneously combust without proper protection. Who hasn't been there? I speak from experience when I tell you, cameras need their fuzzy sleeves. There once was an incident involving my honeymoon, Cadillac Mountain, a windy day, and a stubborn grain of sand, and a stuck zoom lens, need I say more? Like oil changes and car washes for your ride, a little maintenance and protection will go a long way to extend the life of your electronics.
When the End is Near, get Creative
Like my beloved camera with its firmly embedded grain of sand, electronics too reach the ends of their life. Rather than letting them linger in cupboard or drawer or attic, let them go. Recycling is the most obvious eco-solution to an unwanted electronics problem. A quick call to your waste management facility (read: landfill) will tell you how to handle electronics recycling in your county. For more on electronics recycling, read our article. Because recycling, though greener than landfilling, is a costly and messy (and often dangerous) process, it's best to think outside the box and seek even better options.
Do some sleuthing in your community for charities that take old electronics. Cell phones are donated to senior citizens, soldiers, or at-risk youth. Computers can be stripped and refurbished for community centers and adult education programs. For a one-stop-shop for electronics donation, check out
Recycling for Charities
You will be genuinely surprised how many options there are.
So, remember: Ditch the Hype, Buy Used, Do Your Homework, Consider the Life Cycle, Use Gently, and Get Creative. With a little research, your electronics can lead long and useful lives, even going on to help those in need after you're done. You'll save some money, and a whole bundle of natural resources.
Check out our Electronics Recycling Guide for more ideas.
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