1. Be a good consumer. Do some research when you’re ready to buy a new product. Make sure it’s one that won’t break easily or become damaged shortly after you purchase it. In other words, look for products likely to have a much longer lifespan so you won’t need to replace it within a few years, or even months. It’s known that this is a common practice in the electronics industry; to make products with shorter life spans so more money can be earned in the long run when they break or malfunction.
2) Reuse as often as possible. If you have parts and equipment that are still working, try repairing the electronic device before getting a new one. And if the device is beyond the point of being repaired, then recycle it.
3)Educate yourself on what gets put into your electronics. Knowledge is power. Doing some research about the raw materials being used to manufacture your mobile phone or laptop helps you understand how harmful those materials and toxins can be if they’re tossed into a landfill. The more you educate yourself the more you can purchase items that won’t be harmful to the environment.
4)Look for an environmentally friendly label. For example, see if the products you buy are labeled Energy Star, or have been certified by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. Consider limiting the number of electronics you own. If you don’t really need an extra gadget, look for devices that have multiple functions.
5)Teach kids about e-waste. Children are our future, and it helps if we can instill within them at a young age a commit to e-waste recycling. Recycle, recycle, recycle. No matter what you have, it’s important to always dispose of your e-waste properly. That means recycling all of your used electronics, with the understanding that improperly disposing of e-waste is becoming more and more hazardous, particularly since the volume of e-waste has skyrocketed. Understand security issues. All of your personal information remains stored on your electronic devices even if you delete it, so that’s another reason not to throw it away. We can manage the e-waste and forage for elements that can be reused, recycled or responsibly disposed off. We can also boost e-waste recycling by implementing companywide recycling programs, and set up designated bins for consumers to bring their e-waste to be recycled. These programs encourage customers to return old or broken products to their source, where they can then be recycled, refurbished or stripped of usable materials.