MNP Ecology Center

Reusing Your Gadgets and Electronics Gear

In certain instances, reuse and recycle (the second and third elements in the three Rs of green gadgets) are interchangeable. Reusing gadgets, computers, and other electronic devices rather than throwing them away or sending them to a recycler can help reduce your impact on the planet (and on your wallet). When you pass on to others who can use them your still-usable computers or other gadgets you've outgrown, you're practicing the ecofriendly act of reusing. Doing so extends the lives of usable products — and postpones their eventual entry into the waste stream.

The following list shows a few examples of the interchangeability of reusing and recycling. You can

✓ Refill spent inkjet or toner cartridges. This option is preferable to throwing them in the trash and buying new ones every time they're empty.

✓ Add more memory to your computer and install a bigger hard drive.

Help it run faster and give it more storage space.

✓ Upgrade your Windows PC to Windows 7. Your computer consumes less power, thanks to new energy-saving features in Windows 7.

Repairing your broken computer, mobile phone, or other gadget can sometimes cost more than replacing it with a new one.

Even if it's the end of the line for your unwanted, damaged, or hopelessly useless gadget or device, salvaging still usable or saleable parts from them can help reduce your overall impact on the environment when it's time to say "so long."

Other reuse actions you can take to live a green gadget lifestyle include the ones in this list:

✓ Replace single-use disposable batteries in your gadgets with rechargeable ones that you can reuse again and again.

✓ Choose rewriteable (CD-RW/DVD-RW) CD and DVD discs rather than ones you can burn to only once (CD-R/DVD-R) for moving, sharing, and backing up music, video, documents, and other computer files.

✓ Consider upgrading your current computer rather than buying a new one. Adding internal memory, a bigger hard disk, a flat-screen display, or the latest version of the operating system can make an aging desktop or notebook feel new, or nearly new, again.

✓ Donate, sell, or give away gadgets, computers, and other electronics that you no longer want or use but that someone else can use.