According to a study by the EcoExperts, the average Brit creates around five tons of CO2 emissions every single year. Woah. And while that’s a whopping number, there’s loads we can do to tackle it. If all of us do a little bit here and there, we can make sure our impact on the planet is as small as possible. And you don’t have to go off grid and live in a cave to play your part.
So, let’s check out a few easy ways for you to make your tech footprint smaller on Earth Day and beyond…
Trade-in your old device
Getting a new phone is pretty exciting, right? You’ve got all those cool advanced features to try out. And a shiny, upgraded camera for your Insta selfies. But when you take a step back, it’s also the right time to guarantee that your old one doesn’t end up in the bin.
If you trade-in your old phone with iD Mobile, it’ll live on as a refurbished device. When it’s in good nick, it might go on to become someone else’s mobile. But if not, any useful parts we can scrounge will be stripped out and recycled to create completely new phones. It’s clever stuff.
Back in 2021, you lot traded in exactly 2876 phones. Which is a whole lot of waste that’s saved from going into landfill. And on average, those customers pocketed £150 for their troubles. So, what are you waiting for? Make the right call and send it off.
Or if it’s alright, hang onto it instead
But if you really love your phone, it’s still in great shape, and you can wait for that upgrade, keep it a bit longer. Extending the life of smartphones can help to lower carbon dioxide pollution by a pretty mega amount. If all of us kept our phones for an extra year instead of binning them, we’d reduce pollution by four million tons by 2030. That’s the same as planting 200,000 trees, taking over 2 million cars off the road, or creating another five Hyde Parks.
Reduce your phone’s carbon footprint
Did you know that on average, a mobile phone creates about 70 kg of CO2 a year when it’s used for 3.5 hours each day? And if you’re anything like us, you probably use yours for way longer than that! When you start adding it all up, that’s 1% of the average carbon footprint just in calls, texts, and data use alone.
But here’s how you can get those stats down a bit:
- Stream your favourite show over Wi-Fi instead of 4G/5G when you can.
- Toggle your video settings to a lower resolution when you’re downloading or watching something on YouTube. That cat video probably doesn’t need to be in 4K.
- Turn off automatic downloads for your apps. This’ll save your data and your battery life too.
- Switch off background data and shut down any apps when you’re not using them.
Recycle old appliances and gadgets
Right, we’ve tackled phones – but what about all the other tech we’ve got lying about at home? Well, we’ve got your back there too. If you didn’t know already, we’re proud to be part of the Currys group. At Currys we’re the number one retail tech recycler in the whole of the UK. And with us recycling over 60,000 tons of e-waste every year, we have the numbers to back that up.
If you help out and do some recycling yourself though, you’ll get something back from us. Through our Cash for Trash scheme, bring in your old unwanted electronics and you’ll get at least £5 off whatever you buy next. Result. Plus, it doesn’t even matter if you bought that knackered toaster or ancient flip phone from us either. Just pop down to your local store and we’ll take it off you and handle the rest. It’s that simple.
Save energy at home
There are loads of things you can do around your place to use less energy and reduce your environmental impact:
- If you leave a room and don’t plan on going back anytime soon – switch the lights off. Otherwise, it’s a real waste of electricity. And your partner won’t shout at you either.
- Buy an energy efficient appliance - you can get washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, and other kitchen appliances that all use less energy.
- Unplug devices (or switch off plugs) when you’re not using them – games consoles, TVs, your phone charger. Whatever it is, it’s worth doing.
Plus, when you do all of this, you won’t just be doing your bit for the planet. You’ll be saving some cash on your utility bills too. So, it’s a win-win.
Plant trees – yes, really.
An average mature tree can absorb 20kg of CO2 a year. Which means that planting just four of them a year would offset the CO2 made by your mobile phone usage annually. So, if you want to balance things out, here’s the solution!
Companies like Carbon Neutral Britain have special programs where you can pay to offset your carbon emissions. For only £6.99, they’ll plant 20 trees around the world – creating new British woodland, but also stopping deforestation in the Amazon. Instead of shelling out for that meal deal on your lunch break, you know what to do with that spare cash…
Got any other great ways to reduce your impact on the environment? Then tell us about them down below.