We all know the three R’s that will lead us to a healthier Earth: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, but when it comes to obsolete electronics, might we suggest a fourth “R”– Repurpose. Electronics are becoming obsolete/replaced at an incredible rate in our technologically advanced day and age. In order to keep up with the Jones’ the average American family spent $1,179 dollars in 2010 on electronics alone. In other words we are flying through gadgets, but this raises a question of what we should do with our old electronics.

Please don’t “just toss it.” Environmental contaminants, such as the lead, mercury and arsenic, found in screens, circuit boards, and batteries pollute landfills and they seem to never fully go away. Secondly, electronics consist of valuable resources, such as precious metals, copper, and engineered plastics, all of which require considerable energy to process and manufacture. In short, we can find better uses for these dinosaurs than burying them for future paleontologists to dig up.

Reduce/Reduction: to make something smaller or use less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste. In a way, this is happening naturally. As technology progresses by getting faster, lighter, and smaller, consumers expect less clutter and for one device to do more. In fact, the average number of electronic devices an American family had in 2010 was 24, a decrease from 2009, which was 25. An explanation of this decrease could come from the growing popularity of all-in-one devices such as Superphones, Tablets, and other mobile devices that combine phone, internet, music, camera and more all into one device.

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Solar cells seem to be everywhere these days, capturing photons from the sun's rays and converting them into electricity. Traditional designs use expensive silicon semiconductors while new technologies rely on less-efficient thin films that could eventually be fabricated at much lower costs. But they all work essentially the same way; they try to trap photons from sunlight and use these to raise the energy levels of the electrons in the solar cell. This energy is captured as electricity, and can be used as a power source. Unfortunately, these solar cells are only sensitive to a portion of the sunlight's spectrum, and much of the energy is lost.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have taken a different approach to the problem. They have developed a technology that uses the fact that sunlight is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Depending on the wavelength, these emissions can appear as visible light or may be infrared or ultraviolet light, or even radio-frequency waves. An antenna tuned to the right wavelength can capture the energy from the waves and convert it into electricity (which is exactly what your television, radio, or cell phone antenna does).

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 In partnership with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Marines at Camp Smith, Hawaii, are testing a high-tech trash disposal system that can reduce a standard 50-gallon bag of waste to a half-pint jar of harmless ash.

Called the Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS), the unit is currently undergoing evaluation by U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC) as a possible solution to help Marines win their daily battle against the increasing trash at remote forward operating bases (FOB).

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Combustible gases generated by organic matter in landfill sites or from biomass are commonly burned to generate electricity. However, a Finnish team, writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Sustainable Economy, suggests that such biogas might be more usefully used as an alternative feedstock for the chemical industry. They explain that using biogas in this way would reduce our dependency on oil and gas-derived products and is commercially and technically viable.

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