Too many devices such as cellphones and media players are discarded before the end of their useful lives. One reason is that the non-replaceable batteries will no longer hold a sufficient charge. You may be happy with a device, but after a couple of years of use, you maybe forced to chose between spending a significant amount money having the battery replaced, or replacing the device entirely. Many devices on the market today do not have user replaceable batteries. This can be for many reasons. Among the most common is to reduce the cost of manufacture, or to permit designs that are deemed more stylish and desirable.
Sometimes the situation is even worse than the early demise of a functional device. If components such as batteries are glued into place in an effort to reduce assembly cost, much of the device may not be able to be recycled.
When purchasing a new device it may be worthwhile shopping for a device with user replaceable batteries. If the device happens to have an easily accessible battery, a spare battery provides an added convenience of being able to quickly swap in a fresh battery when opportunities to recharge are not available. Many device manufactures abandon devices shortly after introduction and the OEMs may only offer “old” new stock by the time you need a replacement. Third party battery suppliers usually continue to offer replacements for popular devices long after they have disappeared from the marketplace. There have been problems with some aftermarket batteries, but many times the aftermarket batteries are as good or better than the OEM batteries. Your personal experience with a third party manufacturer or online reviews by other users can be your best guide in selecting a replacement.
An even better choice, although not one readily available for smaller devices, is to select technology that accepts standard size batteries (AA, AAA, etc) rather than a proprietary battery pack, and load it with modern slow discharge rechargeables. This strategy allows you to have fully charged backup batteries available for more of your devices without having to invest in a multitude of proprietary batteries which will eventually have to be disposed of in a responsible manner.
At High-Tech Green we realize that you won't always be able to find a suitable alternative that meets the above criteria. And we believe that you should choose the technology that best fits your needs. However, if we try to make better choices when available, we can go along way towards offsetting the impacts our technology have on the environment. In addition, we might even save a little “green” by only replacing our gadgets when they no longer serve our needs.