How to Make Your Cell Phone use Green

It’s a fact that there are ‘greener’ things than cell phones. But for most of us, smoke signals and tin can telephones just don’t get the job done anymore. But don’t fret! There are a few easy steps that everyone can take to make their mobile phone use as ecologically friendly as possible.

1. Always unplug your cell phone charger when it’s not being used! Leaving your charger plugged in wastes energy and costs you money. I know almost nobody that follows this advice, and until a few months ago I had never even considered how chargers not is use would waste energy.
2. Only charge your phone when the battery is almost completely dead. New phone batteries can last up to a week without needing to be charged. Don’t get into the habit of charging your cell phone every night even though it may not need it.
3. Dispose of your cell phone battery properly! Even though most cell phone batteries aren’t the most hazardous substances on the planet, that still doesn’t mean you should throw them in the old bonfire. Because of The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation there is a location near you that will accept your old cell phone batteries for recycling.
4. Consider buying a solar cell phone charger. No matter what brand of cell phone you have there is brand of solar cell phone charger that will work for you. Solaris makes a brand of charger that will work with almost any phone including the iPhone. Xcite makes a similarly useful charger. SolLight makes a charger specifically for the iPhone.
5. Take steps to prolong your cell phone battery life. Hold down the ‘#’ key and lock your cell phone. Use the ‘tools’ section of your phone’s menu to minimize the amount of time the back light is on. If possible, minimize the brightness of the back light. These are just a few steps you can take.

These are just a few ideas that I use to prevent energy waste. What else do you do to make your phone use green? Leave your ideas in the comments!