Cell Phones vs. Landlines for Energy Saving

February 6, 2009 in Green Your Home, Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, Save Energy by Jennifer | 1 comment

Today, most of the people I know have cells. Many don’t even have landline phones anymore. However, some people I know have both.

Is this a wise use of energy and resources? Or should you ditch the landline phone?

Eco cons of landlines:

  • Landlines use more energy. Most need to stay plugged in 24/7; even cordless, because of the charger. Leaving anything plugged in drains energy resources.
  • Landline phones are tough to recycle. Some parts can be, but in many cases, you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent recycling center for basic phones.

Eco cons of cell phones

  • Cell phone batteries, for the most part are not eco-friendly. Some companies are working on more eco-friendly phones though.
  • Cell phones are outdated quickly and don’t last as long as most landlines.
  • Cell phones are lost often – another way cell phones cause waste.

The upsides:

Landlines don’t have those toxic batteries, and last a long time. Cell phone recycling programs are becoming very common, and they’re easy to find. Cell phones also use fewer materials to make, and can be unplugged plus charge quickly, using less energy.

What to do:

Some estimate that landlines will soon be obsolete anyhow, which is something to consider. Another fact is that you really don’t need both. If you already have both, it’s probably a smarter eco-choice to ditch the landline. The flip side is if you’re concerned about cell phones causing cancer. This is up for debate, but something to consider. If you’re worried, and having a landline will ease your concerns, it may be healthier stress-wise to have both and only use your cell on the go.

Do you have both landlines and cells in your family? Have you considered ditching one?

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  1. Kirk Meyer’s avatar

    Kirk Meyer on June 24, 2009 at 1:30 pm

    This is not a level comparison.

    “Leaving anything plugged in drains energy resources.” This is not true of landlines. When a corded landline phone is on the hook, the DC circuit is blocked. What’s more, the power drain is negligible compared to frequently recharging a cellular phone (not to mention leaving the charger plugged in, as most people do). This doesn’t even include the power consumed by the cell phone provider to route a call over its towers and network.

    “Landline phones are tough to recycle.” Why does one need to recycle one, unless wrongly encouraging people to throw them away in favor of cell phones? Landline phones have great longevity (much longer than cell phones, even if people did use them for their full useful life).

    People may desire the perceived convenience of cellular phones, but landlines are much more environmentally friendly than cell phones.