On the occasion of Earth Day, we tell you about a few products you can use and practices that you can implement...
- Use rechargeable batteries
It's hard to imagine our lives without batteries. But these mini powerhouses are made up of heavy metals and toxic elements like cadmium, lithium, nickel and mercury. It is, therefore, extremely important that we dispose old batteries responsibly .If these find their way into landfills and incinerators, the leaks that are caused by their improper disposal could threaten our environment and health (see E-waste Management for proper disposal tips).
Thankfully , most of our gadgets like cameras, smartphones and laptops come with rechargeable batteries. For everything else like flashlights, remote controls and toys, use rechargeable batteries. These can be recharged up to a 1000 times and are a much cheaper and eco-friendly alternative. Here, you can consider the USBCell's AA Rechargeable Battery (`500) or Viotek AA Rechargeable Battery (`1,950 for a pair). Both these models can be recharged by plugging directly into the USB port of your computer.
Alternatively , you could buy rechargeable batteries - along with a plug-point charger from brands such as Eveready, Panasonic Eneloop, and Sony with prices starting as low as `550 for four AA batteries.
- Use LED lights
Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFLs can last up to five times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs, and a 15W CFL is also capable of giving you the same amount of illumination as a traditional 60W lightbulb, but CFLs also contain toxic mercury in small amounts.
On the other hand, LEDs last six times longer than even CFLs; they give you the same kind of illumination in just 6 7W, and also do not use any toxic chemicals in their makeup. Clearly, it's a win-win solution for LED lights over CFLs and incandescent bulbs.
Not only will LEDs reduce your electric bills, they're also safer to dispose of. You can expect to pick up LED bulbs from brands such as Eveready, Syska, Philips and D-Lite for as low as `150 a piece. Seriously, there's no real excuse not to shift to LEDs already.
- Drop the brightness levels
Cutting your monitor or laptop's screen brightness might seem like a minor thing to do, but the energy savings will add up over time. For desktops, this is easily done by lowering brightness with the help of the menu buttons on the monitor. For laptops, you need to use the “Function“ buttons on your keyboard.
- Don't use screensavers
If you use screensavers, disable them; switch off the monitor instead. Also, in the Control Panel, click on Power Options > Change Plan Settings and select Bal anced power plan. From here, you can set the duration after which your display automatically turns off, or set the computer into standby.
- Smartphone power mangement: Cut down on display brightness and more
For smartphones, you can cut down on display brightness from the notification area itself. Do not opt for the Auto option as this requires the built-in ambient light sensor to function all the time. You could also switch to a neutral colour profile or a “reading“ mode to cut down on brightness and certain colours. You can find these options within Settings > Display.
You can also configure your phone's power management settings to extend battery life. Simply choose the profile you want to use: balanced, performance, or power saving. Some phones provide detailed options within each of these where you can force the device to shut off mobile data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth when the phone is inactive. These tweaks will help in extending your phone's battery life and reduce energy consumption.
- Use programmable timer switches
Ever forgotten to switch off the lights before you've left home? Do your little kids need you to keep the lights on till they fall asleep? If yes, you might want to consider programmable timer switches that can be used to switch appliances ON and OFF at pre-specified times.
Here, you can consider brands such as Blackt Electrotech, Ozone System and Walnut Innovations, with prices starting at `900. All of these programmable switches support the Indian standard of power supply (AC 220-240V) and a load capacity of up to 1000W . They also come with 17 ON, and 17 OFF memory spaces, allowing you to program them precisely to your needs so you never ever waste electricity again.
- Control e-waste
Exchange offers for your old devices is one of the many ways you can dispose of electronic equipment. But many of us are still left with unused appliances that have no exchange value. Dumping these appliances and gadgets directly in the trash bin is hazardous to the environment. Harmful chemicals from electronics buried in the landfills could seep into and poison water systems.
Besides, incineration by unqualified e-waste disposers could release toxins into the air. The good news is that you can now dispose of or recycle electronic equipment responsibly... Most consumer electronics brands such as LG, Microsoft, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony and Whirlpool have local collection centres for old appliances, where they are then disposed of by following proper sustainability practices. You can refer to the company's e-waste programme from the product manual (look for the garbage bin logo with the cross on it). Or, look for details in the `Sustainability' or `Corporate Social Responsibility' sections of the company website. Note: These are not “buy back“ schemes.
Alternatively , you can approach e-waste recyclers E-Parisaraa (http:www.ewasteindia.com) and Attero (http:www.attero.in). The former is a government-authorized e-waste recycler, which accepts telecom, equip ment, washing machines, toner car tridges, wires and cables, CFL tubes, dry cells, lithium batteries, etc. Attero, on the other hand, buys used electronic items and uses its own e-waste management system to extract pure metals and rare earths from e-waste in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner. These services are more suited for housing societies, offices and educational institutions where bulk electronic and electrical waste is discarded routinely.
You can consider selling gadgets like laptops, phones, televisions, washing machines and more to companies like Budli (http:www.budli.in), ReGlobe (http:www.reglobe.in), Ynew (ynew.in), SahiValue (http:www.sahivalue.com) and Karma Recycling (http:www.karmarecycling.in). The process usually involves you getting an approximate buyback price and the option to request a pick up. It's that simple.
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