Eco-friendly Tips: How to Green Your Cell Phone

These days practically everyone has a cell phone. A cell phone can be a good idea for emergency situations or in many cases it can be someone's entire life. Whatever your cell phone is to you, it's important to know and realize that cell phone use can use a lot of energy in the form of electricity. While many of us are unwilling to give up our cell phones, there are ways to go green while still using our precious mobile devices. So before you go to use your phone, check out these green cell phone tips that will have you helping the planet in the easiest way possible.

Power Down

A really great way to save your cell phone's battery power is to turn off your cell phone when it's not in use. There are times when keeping your cell phone on is simply unnecessary, namely when you're at the movies, at work, or sleeping. These are usually times when getting a call or text is inconvenient and can wait. On the up side, even if you power off your cell phone, you'll still receive texts and missed call notifications when you turn your cell phone back on. In addition, we all could use a little peace and quiet every once in a while too!

Replace Your Battery

There is nothing worse than an old battery that eats up electricity and can never stay fully charged. Usually phones will old or bad batteries need much more charging than new phones. If you see that your battery isn't holding a charge like it used to, it may be time to get a new battery for your phone. Many cell phone provides have a free battery swap for almost any phone and these same providers often take green measures to make sure batteries are properly disposed of too.

Dim the Screen

Many fancy phones these days have power saving settings, which is great if you want to go green with your phone. One easy thing you can do is dim the screen of your phone. This will definitely save energy and you'll still be able to see the screen easily too. If you have a fancy phone, check out the power saving settings and see what else your phone can do to save its charge.

Avoid the Internet

For many people their cell phone is their connection to the world, especially in the form of the Internet and email. What you may or may not realize is that going on the Internet or checking your email from your phone can easily drain your battery. After checking my email a few times on my phone, I lost an entire bar of charge. If you can wait to use a computer, it's a much better idea to check your email and browse the Internet then.

Recycle

As a rule of thumb, don't replace your phone unless it's absolutely necessary. And if you need to replace your phone make sure you recycle your old phone. Many cell phone providers stores have a recycling bin for old phones. By recycling your phone, you're preventing your phone from ending up in a landfill and from chemicals leaching from the cell phone's battery as well.