The tech sector is abuzz telling the world how they will rally round Mother Earth this week.

All promising to do their bit to reduce electronic or e-waste at home, in the office and on the road, to mark Earth Day which falls on April 22.

UK-based computer chain PC World announced that it will come up with a computer made from recycled materials and the most energy-efficient components available.

The green PCs are expected to be out this summer.

Across the Atlantic, Dell and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host an Earth Day computer recycling event this Sunday.

Residents in the Washington DC area can recycle any brand computer, monitor, printer and other computer equipment by dropping off the items at the event - minus the innards like disks, PC cards, flash drives and CD-ROMs.

In Singapore, people can take their old printers, scanners and PCs to SingPost outlets for Hewlett-Packard to recycle from this Thursday to April 23.

If only for a few days this week, folks will be reminded that e-waste is harming Earth.

The materials from discarded gizmos like mobile phones, television sets and computers make up 50 million tonnes of e-waste a year, estimates the United Nations Environmental Programme.

And some of the toxic metals that make up the innards of electronics can leach out if left in the trash, to poison the ground.

In fact, even before gadgets and gizmos reach the end of their useful lives, they leave at least a 'trace of a carbon footprint', said Technology Predictions report from Deloitte.

These devices require electricity to run, and to generate the power requires the burning of fossil fuels. So every time you turn on that wide-screen TV, you are creating a little pullution.

To do our part, Digital Life suggests six ways you can go tech-green.

BUY GREEN

THE BEST WAY to kick toxic, non-recyclable products out of the market is simple: do not buy them.

Go instead for gizmos from eco-friendly brands by the likes of Lenovo. And think again about being slavishly faithful to Apple.

The company did the worst among 14 technology companies ranked in the annual Green Electronics Guide. Other companies included in the guide are Sony-Ericsson, Dell and Samsung. Environmental group Greenpeace produces the guide.

SEEK VALUE

GO FOR GADGETS that give you more for the money. All-in-one or multifunction gizmos, besides satisfying the geek's craze for a host of functions, are also eco-friendly. For example, why get a separate phone, digital camera, music player and personal digital assistant or PDA when a smartphone has all those functions?

There is Sony Ericsson, which builds in full music player features into their Walkman phones and Nokia, which has fitted its N-series phones with high-end cameras.

SAVE ENERGY

CHOOSE ELECTRONICS THAT use less power to save the earth - and your wallet too. The higher the wattage, the more electricity a gadget guzzles.

Also, every time you plug in a gadget or gizmo, you are polluting a little. Gadgets consume electricity and electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels which releases greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Look for the Energy Star labels that indicate a device uses less energy to perform the same functions as other similar products.

CHARGE MANUALLY

CHARGE YOUR GADGETS the low-tech way, with muscle power. This harnesses your kinetic energy and converts it into electrical energy.

Solio's Portable Hybrid Solar Charger

There are mechanical devices to help. One of them is the SideWinder, which retails online at US$24.95 ($38) at members.shaw.ca/sidewindercharger. The mobile phone charger is devilishly simple to operate: just insert your mobile phone into the device and start winding the lever at the side.

Solio's Portable Hybrid Solar Charger (right) can charge a range of handheld devices from iPods to digital cameras, and is available at www.solio.com for US$99.90.

UPGRADE COMPONENTS

UPGRADE YOUR CURRENT PC set-up - that is a more eco-friendly way of getting up to speed than buying a new system altogether.

Consumer gadgets and appliances have a very short life cycle, in that they start to become obsolete the moment you buy them. The reason: new technology advances so quickly that the faster gadgets will be out there faster than you can blink.

But if you are eyeing a more souped-up computer, don't chuck out your old machine just yet. Instead, check to see if you can upgrade certain components like the graphics card or random access memory.

COUNT CONSUMPTION

DENY POWER-DRAINING electrical appliances their "food supply" - unplug them from the mains.

Just switching off the appliance - from television to PC - is not enough.

These devices keep draining power from the main power source even after they have been switched off in order to keep features such as timers, clocks and memory running.

The rule of thumb: yank out from the power socket any appliance that is hums or glows in the dark.

Otherwise, going by some studies, you could be paying up to 10 per cent more for electricity.

Hewlett-Packard Recycling Week

When: April 19-23

What to dispose: Any brand of PC, monitors, fax machines, dekstop copieres, printers, scanners, handheld and notebook computers.

A $10 best Denki voucher will be given for each HP Deskjet product brought in for recycling.

Where: Bring them to selected Singpost outlets.

See http://www.hp.com.sg/hardwarerecycle for list of 20 Singpost outlets.

How many: Each person can bring two items for recycling each day.