Every where you look these days there seems to be a big push to be more environmentally conscious, whether it’s in the products we use everyday or by making lifestyle changes (both big and small) there’s definitely a push to be ‘greener’, not just to satisfy our own conscience but to help protect the Earth for future generations. Now while this culture-shift to greener ideas has affected many aspects of our lives there hasn’t been much of a push to make gaming greener or at least one that has been as well publicized and strongly push as many of the other enjoy on a day-to-day to basis. That’s why today we’re going to do something a little different and put together a bit of a guide on how you can both enjoy video games and help the planet out at the same time!

Turn Off Your Consoles

Electricity has to come from somewhere, and unless you get yours from a renewable source like solar or wind energy then its being delivered from a power plant (depending on the type) and those are rather notorious polluters. And with every modern console having a ‘sleep’ mode now they are essentially always on and drawing power from an outlet, which while at a much smaller voltage than if it was running a game is still electricity being taken when you aren’t actively using it. Also since most sleep modes exist to run updates and downloads, some of which are getting rather large in size these days the power expenditures of modern game systems is only increasing, even while asleep. So turn off your system once in a while, not only will you save some electricity but the full shutdown will actually help preserve the life of your hardware by having it boot from scratch.

Recycle Properly

Video games, are by their very nature, meant to be replaced. If an idea is a hit there’s bound to be a another title to come along that aims to be the ‘bigger, better’ version that makes the original obsolete. And while some games stand the test the time older games very often get played less than their newer counterparts, and end up being traded in or sold to another interested gamer. But when they do reach their ends of their lives, usually from wear and tear, what do you do with your old games (cartridges, discs) and even consoles? Well it’s time to recycle! Many hardware and utility stores have electronics recycling programs and will gladly take old and busted hardware off your hands. As for game cartridges, it’s best to check in with your local recycling plant as some of these contain old (now more than 30-year-old) batteries so save backups and might need to be disposed of in a special manner.

Buy Used

Yes I know, I love the feeling of getting a brand new game home, peeling away the shrink-wrap and having that pristine box art to look at, not to mention the piece of mind that the game you are getting will definitely, well work. But new physical games are absolutely awful for the environment. For one there’s that pesky plastic wrap that protects the game which is most definitely not going to decompose anytime soon. Buying used means that less video games end up being tossed out (remember GameStop dumpster diving?) and end up going to a landfill. Taking a used game home versus a new one can help keep it from ending up in the trash and probably save you a few bucks too!

Go Digital

The last point we want to make today is probably the single biggest thing a gamer can do to ‘go green’ – and that’s to move to an all-digital game collection. As of this generation all games release both physically and digitally and while it might be nice to have a big game collection to show off, all that plastic and paper really adds up and can lead to a lot of unnecessary waste down the road. Getting your games digitally completely eliminates this but also removes all the extras we sometime don’t think about, like the printed inserts, the plastic bag you get to take the game home with, store flyers advertisements and (for some of us) the gas it takes to get to the store or for someone to deliver the game. All-digital gaming may still have some questions that need answering (like how ownership works) but by far, this is the best thing anyone can do to reduce their carbon footprint while playing video games.

The next few years will be very critical to determining the near future of the human race and our environment. Taking care of the planet (the only one we have) and fixing the damage that has been done is going to be a monumental undertaking and will require both big and small efforts from everyone in order to ensure a pleasant future for all life on Earth. When it comes to video games, whether that means doing something small like remembering to turn off your PlayStation 4 once in a while or a full change in how you buy games by going all-digital is really up to you. Just know that every little bit helps and that everyone’s efforts are towards the same goal.

Happy green gaming!