I am loving this digital age. There are so many ways to cut back on our garbage, refuse and clutter if we learn to embrace the technological age. The very fact that I am embrassing technology separates me from many homesteading and simple living advocates. Most would have us believe that new age technology keeps us chained to our desks, slaves to our jobs and always plugged in.
I agree in some ways. Being such a technologically advanced society has many draw backs. There is quite a large pile of electronic garbage piling up as things like VCRs, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, old cell phones, broken printers and any number of out dated computer related garbage. Sometimes new technology is manufactured so cheaply that when an item breaks down it becomes more cost effecient to buy a new one. One could also argue that being so plugged in makes employers expect more by way of productivity. It makes us slaves to the office and it causes many to interrupt family time to answer the blackberry or check innumerable emails.
On the other hand, if approached wisely technology can be a boon for those of us who are environmentally conscious. For one, most electronic items can be recycled with nearly all parts finding new uses leaving very little to be sent to the landfill. These recycling places are usually private businesses that accept your broken monitors and televisions for free. Their employees strip it down and then sell the material to industries needing the copper, glass, gold and plastic that is found within. To find one near you check your phone book. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Another trick is to think about the items that give you and your situation the most bang for your buck.
For me, I love my digital camera. I can take a plethora of photos, save 100s of pictures on a disc and put them away for safe keeping, never having to print any unless I have a specific use for them. I love that no chemicals are used so I can enjoy my pictures.
I have a digital picture frame that flips through hundreds of photos, always changing and showing me memories through out my day. I am often pleasantly surprised and thus my photoframe never blends in with my surroundings. When on vacation my most prized souvenirs are my photos so I never have to purchase snow globes, pins or other such items found in most gift shops (and then later at the second hand store). It would also be good to note that keeping your photo files on a disc which is stored in a fire safe box is a good way to guard your memories against fire or, even a more likely, a computer crash. You may loose a lot in a house fire, but the most common item missed is family photos.
My husband and I have also made a pact when it comes to electronic and entertainment items. We no longer buy new music in CD form. We either shop online for MP3 formatted music or purchase used. DVD's are approached in the same way, buying only used movies. This has drastically reduced our garbage from these items.
My husband is a big PC gamer. He loves getting a new game each month and I just couldn't imagine the waste we would generate if he bought those video games at the stores. Instead he belongs to an online account, in our case Steam, that allows him to purchase games which are then virtually added to his profile. He can play as often as he wants and if our computer crashes there is no chance of loosing his purchases because they are operated through this company that holds his account. In this way he can be entertained by this modern convention without contributing to the landfill issue. There are no emmissions from trucks transporting his games to him. And he didn't need to create emmissions going to the store.
I bet if everyone sat back and thought about digital ways to cutback on waste hundreds of pounds of plastic could be prevented from going to our landfills. There could be less trucks on the road carting these goods around. And less chemicals filling the air while manfacturing these products.
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