28
Jan
2010
Mobile Phone Recycling
Here is something to think about: each year, over a million mobile phones are disposed. The total amount of plastic waste that the mobile phone industry is spewing is already several metric tons. Add in the disposed batteries, extra casings, accessories, and waste by-products from the production processes and you have got a serious amount of waste to deal with.
This is why it is very important for both consumers and manufacturers to take an active role in being responsible for the sake of the planet. Manufacturers are all following their own carbon emission reduction goals, though some are more successful than others.
Take Sony Ericsson and Nokia for example, the two companies have been pretty close to their CO2 emission reduction goals that Greenpeace ranked the two companies as the greenest of all the electronic companies in the world. Other companies such as Samsung have been behind on their plans and have plenty of catching up to do.
For consumers, eco-responsibility becomes more of a personal discipline with a balance of community participation. The easiest thing to do is to simply support eco friendly products such as the SE GreenHeart mobile phones.
Another easy thing to do is to take part of recycling programs such as Orange’s Recycle and Rewards program. There are even incentives for sending in your old mobile phones and electronics.
Recently, Scope (a cerebral palsy charity) held a major recycling campaign for mobile phones. Officially, the world record for the most mobile phones recycled in a week is 952 (according to the Guinness Book of World Records); apparently, Scope surpassed that number.
It is efforts such as these and the continuous work of many individuals that are keeping the spirit of green awareness alive. If you have electronics and other devices that you are planning to dispose of, contact your local authorities or civic groups to locate proper recycling hubs.
Read the rest at Dial-a-Phone UK.
