Super Eco

Photo credit: weirdvis, SXC

Take a lot of photos? Have out of town relatives? Then chances are there's a digital picture frame somewhere in your vicinity. Whether you own one of the twenty million sold last year or purchased it as a gift for someone you love, these techie gadgets are becoming more and more ubiquitous. But how green are they? Super Eco went to work to find out.

Power use. Most digital frames use about 9-11 watts of power, 24/7. A few models can move to standby mode; one powers off automatically at night; and some use rechargeable batteries. A standard frame uses no electricity.

Printing. Is your digital frame a replacement for hundreds of printed-out digital photos? Turning on and running your computer and printing out photos, say, twice a month for 15 minutes each time will use more electricity than a digital frame does that uses not much more than your computer when it's on standby. But, realistically, how often do you print photos? If it's a few here and there, use recycled photo paper, print your few pics, and be done with it. If you take and distribute hundreds of photos because you just can't stop yourself from shooting your extremely photogenic kids from every conceivable angle, digital distribution may be a better answer.

But what are they made of? You've essentially got a mini LCD screen there. And LCD is made from things with lots of syllables, like polyamides and silicon dioxide and indium tin oxide. Things that aren't readily recyclable. Standard picture frames are mainly made of tree-killing wood.

Bottom line: If you take photos, make your own frames from discarded or found objects, or recycle used frames from a yard sale or your own attic, and skip the digital version.