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Safe Cell Phone Disposal
Question: What
happens to my old cell phone after I upgrade? Do the stores really
recycle them or give them to the poor, or are they just ending up in
landfills? Where can I take mine to ensure that it is dealt with
properly?
As cellphones proliferate they are giving computers and monitors some
competition for the dubious distinction as the largest contributor to
the world’s growing e-waste problem. Indeed, toxin-laden electronics are
clogging landfills and polluting air and groundwater supplies from coast
to coast.
The average North American gets a new cellphone every 18 to 24 months,
making old phones—many which contain hazardous materials like lead,
mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants and arsenic—the fastest
growing type of manufactured garbage in the nation. According to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans discard 125
million phones each year, creating 65,000 tons of waste.
Luckily, a new breed of electronics recyclers is stepping in to help.
Call2Recycle, a nonprofit organization, offers consumers and retailers
in the U.S. and Canada simple ways to recycle old phones. Consumers can
enter their zipcode on the group’s website and be directed to a drop box
in their area. Most major electronics retailers, from Radio Shack to
Office Depot, participate in the program and offer Call2Recycle
drop-boxes in their stores. Call2Recycle recovers the phones and sells
them back to manufacturers which either refurbish and resell them or
recycle their parts for use in making new products.
The CollectiveGood organization takes used cellphones, refurbishes them
and then re-sells them to distributors and carriers for use primarily in
developing countries, providing affordable communications to poorer
citizens while helping to “bridge the digital divide.” They also recycle
all non-functioning batteries through a partnership with the
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. When you donate your phone
to CollectiveGood you can direct the profits from the sales to a charity
of your choice.
Another player is ReCellular, which manages the in-store collection
programs for Bell Mobility, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Best Buy and Verizon.
The company also maintains partnerships with Easter Seals, the March of
Dimes, Goodwill Industries and other nonprofits that undertake cellphone
collection drives as a way of funding their charitable work. According
to ReCellular vice-president Mike Newman, the company is trying to
change attitudes about used cellphones, to get consumers to
“automatically think of recycling cellphones just like they currently do
with paper, plastic or glass.
Neither the U.S. or Canada mandates electronics recycling of any kind at
the federal level, but a few states and provinces are getting into the
act at their own initiative. California recently passed the first
cellphone recycling law in North America. As of July 1, 2006,
electronics retailers doing business there must have a cellphone
recycling system in place in order to legally sell their products,
whether online or in-store. Other U.S. states considering similar
legislation include Illinois, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Vermont
and Virginia, while the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are likely to jump on the mandatory cell
phone recycling bandwagon soon.
CONTACTS:
Call2Recycle;
CollectiveGood;
ReCellular
From:
E-The Environmental Magazine, Earthtalk, Week of 06/06/07,
www.emagazine.com |
