Cell phones are a serious solid-waste problem. According to INFORM, a nonprofit environmental research group, there are over 130 million cell phones retired in the U.S. - over 40 times more than in 1990 - with only a very small percentage having been collected for reuse and recycling.
Cell phone equipment contains toxic materials:
| |
• Printed circuit boards contain toxic metals including lead, nickel, and beryllium.
•Liquid crystal displays contain mercury.
• Batteries may contain nickel and cadmium, particularly older ones.
• Plastics may contain brominated flame retardants, that are toxic and persist in the environment. Studies suggest they accumulate in household dust and in the food chain, and they have been detected in some fish.
|
Not all the phones returned for reuse or recycling end up at an appropriately managed facility. According to INFORM, a nonprofit environmental research group, more than two-thirds of phones that are refurbished for reuse are sent abroad, often to developing countries, where there is little or no recycling infrastructure. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, an environmental advocacy group, has similarly found that the majority of equipment intended for recycling is diverted to uncontrolled landfills or unsafe recycling operations in developing countries. As a result, the local environment in these areas can become contaminated, and local residents, in an effort to reclaim valuable metal components, may be exposed to hazardous materials.
A coalition of environmental groups recently established a voluntary program known as the Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship. Companies signing the pledge agree to prevent the export of hazardous electronic components to developing countries, the disposal of waste equipment in municipal landfills and incinerators not equipped to handle it, and the use of prison labor. The program is new, but the number of companies that have signed on is growing. Click here for a list of recyclers that signed the pledge.
|
