August Top Tips - electronics

Happy August!

For the Top Tips this August we will cover one really obvious waste product that we have totally disregarded so far: electronics. Electronic devices (Phones, computers, TVs, printers etc.) not only use up electricity but also create so much waste, especially considering how many people own them and what amount of them. Many people for example own more than one phone or regularly get new ones. That itself is a waste, however, they do need fixing and extra products such as cables and headphones as well. Some companies design their products to fail after a certain amount of time so the consumers have to get new ones… With all of that comes a lot of waste, and here are tips on how to avoid some of it!

1) Use your product as long as possible.

If you use each product for longer, then you won't have to keep buying new ones. This saves money and resources. Many people like to get themselves the newest device as soon as possible to get hold of the newest features, but this is unnecessary. It normally doesn‘t really pay off. So use your device as long as possible!

2) Put a case on your electronics

At some point, electronics break, but if you put a case on them and look after them, then they will last longer and you won't have to pay for fixing them. This seems logical but cases especially for phones and computers are actually really helpful and prevent your device from breaking, especially when you handle it carefully.

3) Take care of your battery

Batteries are often the first thing that breaks. However, you can look after your battery so that it lasts longer. Here are some tips:
-Don’t let your battery run all the way down and certainly don’t leave it in that state for a long time
-Keep your battery charged but do not overcharge it. If it is charged you can leave it for quite a while.
-It is best to charge your battery with its original cable
-If you simply want to make sure your battery doesn’t die that quickly it is always helpful to keep your brightness down and turn off services like Bluetooth and WIFI when you aren’t using them

4) Try to get your device or part of it fixed before going to buy a new one

If part of your device is broken, then you can buy that part to get it fixed. Again, it's cheaper and means that you don't throw the still working parts away, so you can use your device longer!

5) Buy secondhand

So if your device is really broken beyond repair, then at least buy second-hand. This is a lot cheaper and better for the environment. (some websites are listed below)

6) Just because your friends might have the newest mobile phone, doesn't mean that you need it too!

This is kind of obvious but just because your friends/colleagues have the newest most expensive device on the market doesn't mean that you need it. Owning the most popular stuff on the market doesn’t necessarily make you cool, so don’t fall for the marketing strategies of all those companies!

Useful links:

Trademore

Gazelle

Amazon

eBay

Swappa

This is where we got our tips on how to take care of your battery from:

https://www.tayna.co.uk/tutorials/caring-for-your-battery

https://news.samsung.com/za/top-three-tips-for-taking-care-of-your-smartphone-battery

https://myrepublic.net/sg/blog/10-ways-to-make-your-phone-battery-last-longer/

Thank you for taking care of the planet with us this month again!

Your Green World Team💚

Image: This image is owned by a blog editor.

Comments

Photo Essay || Iceland Series (part 1)

Hi Everyone! I recently went on a school trip to Iceland! It was such an incredible experience (and I'm going to sound cheesy now) but it was also incredible to do it with some of my closest friends! I saw so many incredible things and learnt so much, so I couldn't resist sharing a little Iceland mini series of posts, all about Iceland, both my experiences there and what I saw, but also the way it uses geothermal energy, and the animals, natural landforms and plants that are there. Today I'm sharing some photos of my trip. These are all photos I have taken, and are also the highlights so please bear that in mind as you browse these! I hope it is interesting and inspires you to book a trip to Iceland! The blue lagoon <33 landscapes.... Lost little farmhouses a...

18.10.20 Animal Of The Week: Sloth

Hello, Sorry this didn't come out on Sunday as planned but this week's animal of the week is the sloth because the twentieth of October is Sloth Day. Habitat The sloth resides in Central and South America. It lives in the rainforests there and occasionally drops into the water for a bathe as, believe it or not, they are actually excellent swimmers! Diet Sloths eat leaves, twigs and buds which they find in the rainforest. As they don't have incisors they smack their lips together to make leaves more digestible. Sloths can survive on relatively little food as it takes a while for them to digest it. Sleep and Speed When you think of a sloth, you probably think of this slow, sleepy creature. They actually sleep for about 15 hours a day! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate (what basic calories your body needs to survive), which means they move at a slow pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 40 yards per day ...

4 tips for eco-eating

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be sharing some tips for making sure that what you are eating is environmentally friendly. 1. Check for Palm Oil As you can probably tell from past posts, we are strongly against using palm oil . Palm oil is often used in food products, so by quickly glancing over the ingredients list on the product's packaging, you can make sure that no rainforest has been cut down to make it. For instance, we would recommend buying "McVites Digestive light" instead of the classic version as it was specifically designed to not contain palm oil. 2. Shop Locally The shops in your local area will probably get their produce from local sources, so by buying your food from them will ensure that no CO2 has been produced from shipping, as well as supporting the local community. Some shops have recently started to serve dry ingredients (such as flour and sugar) in paper bags or in your own containers, which leads onto... ...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

Announcement: Galápagos Islands

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no.5 - rice's whale

Welcome back to Green World Today we're exploring the Mexican gulf and a rather unknown whale species called the rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei). The name doesn't have anything to do with cooking rice, instead, it's been named after Dale W. Rice, a cetologist. Rice's whales are found in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. They were originally considered to be Bryde's whales, due to their almost identical appearance until genetic analysis in 2021 determined that they are their own species. They are still often known as Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales. In April 2019 they were listed as endangered by the NMFS under that name before it was officially changed in August 2021. They live in waters about 100-500m deep off the coast of Florida and although their diet is unknown, suspected food contains lanternfish and hatchet fish. They do not migrate and remain in the same waters all year round. Due to being such a recently confirme...

The limits of the Earth - the planetary boundary model

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about a model that was introduced in 2009 and has offered a new perspective to thinking about environmental issues. The planetary boundary model has 9 boundaries, each has a safe zone. Once the safe zone is exceeded, the stable conditions on our planet are considered at risk, and there can be severe and possibly irreversible changes. The nine boundaries are considered separate however, they greatly affect each other. Novel Entities describes the introduction and accumulation of man-made novel chemical compounds. These include pesticides, nuclear waste and microplastics. Stratospheric Ozone Depletion refers to the depletion of the ozone layer which was a major problem in the 90s. Atmospheric Aerosol Loading is air particle pollution. Ocean Acidification is self-explanatory. The boundary Biochemical Flows is composed of two separate boundaries; nitrogen and phosphorus. Both of the ele...

Metamorphosis

Hello! Today we thought it would be good to explain exactly how metamorphosis works. It's a term that we often use when talking about frogs, butterflies or other animals, but we've never actually explained what it is or how it works. What is metamorphosis? Metamorphosis is the term used to describe the changes that some animals undergo when turning into adults. It is a physical change that happens after birth/hatching. There is a brilliant quote from the website a-z animals that I just couldn't put any better: unlike the typical subtle developments in animals, metamorphosis is dramatic. It’s controlled by a release of hormones in the cells. Mammals usually move from adolescence to adulthood and old age gradually, maintaining their form and shape. However, in metamorphosis, an animal moves through those stages and changes from one form or shape to another. How does metamorphosis work? Let's take the classic butterfly example./d...

Turning waste into valuables

Hi, So this post was requested on Twitter after our September Top Tips about recycling . Today we will be talking about how to turn complete waste into something reasonably valuable. This is basically a form of upcycling but to a more extreme level. 1. Ecobricks So, almost a year ago we did a post about ecobricks , but they are such a good example of turning waste into valuables that we decided to put it here anyway. Ecobricks are a building material made from plastic. The waste plastic is washed and then compacted into a clean plastic bottle (also waste). The bottle becomes very hard and durable. Multiple bottles can then be used as bricks and cemented together. The 'bricks' are strong and do not decompose. For more info, read our post where we go into more detail. 2. Metals Although this may seem like something not worth the time. When you separate the metals in waste (for example an old car), you can get usable metal out ...

July Top Tips | 3 up-cycling ideas

Hi Everyone! For July, we will be sharing 3 up-cycling ideas that you can easily try at home to save money, and the planet at the same time! Thank you so much for joining us today and let's get into it! 1. Fabric off cuts to gift wrap! So you've just finished making a new cushion for your lounge or sewing a bag, and you have fabric left over. These small pieces of fabric still may have a purpose one day, so you fold them up neatly and place them in a drawer, just in case. But the time never comes and the same offcuts have been in the drawer for years. Why don't you use it as gift wrap? Wrapping paper is a problem environmentally so using fabric is a win-win! And it can look fantastic! If your offcuts are too small, why don't you sew them together and make a patchwork-style version? And the best thing is that it can be reused again and again! 2. Jars There are so many things that you can do with jars. Probably one of the ...

Green World

Search This Blog