GreenTech

Are green phones the answer?

Discarded devices can leak lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxic substances into the soil and water supply.

by Denise DiRamio

Cellular phones are one of the most pervasive modern technologies in the world, with more than four billion cell phone subscribers worldwide, according to a recent study by the International Telecommunications Union.

One billion handsets are produced every year, yet less than 20 percent are recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most cell phone retailers, manufacturers and service providers have collection programs where phones can be dropped off or mailed in - regardless of the age or brand - but Nokia says less than 3 percent of handsets come back through their recycling program.

The goal is to stop mobile devices from ending up in landfills. Cell phones contain potentially harmful substances, which can damage the environment. Once in the waste stream, these devices can leak lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other toxic substances into the soil and water supply.

Recycling phones also helps the environment by saving energy and keeping valuable materials out of landfills and incinerators. Cell phones are made with precious metals, copper and plastics - all of which require energy to mine and manufacture - which can all be recovered and reused to manufacture new products.

ReCellular, a recycler and reseller of mobile phones, processes discarded handsets and fixes them for resale or sends them to be dismantled and recycled. ReCellular Vice President Mike Newman estimates there are between 100 million and 130 million phones thrown away every year in the United States alone. "One phone on its own is pretty small, but when you do the math on the millions of phones discarded every year, it's quite dramatic," he says.

Nearly half a million mobile devices are sent to ReCellular each month, and about half are refurbished and sold. Most of the BlackBerrys that ReCellular processes are resold in the United States, says Newman, often to corporations that need to replace lost and damaged devices.

"It's absolutely more earth-friendly to reuse," says Seth Heine, chief executive of CollectiveGood, a company that refurbishes and resells phones. Although users tend to replace their cell phones every 18 months, phones can last for five to seven years.

Eager to demonstrate their greenness, vendors are developing eco-friendly phones. Samsung has designed a cell phone, the W510, made with corn-based plastic. Nokia has announced a concept phone called Remade, which is made from recycled aluminum cans, plastics from drink bottles and old car tires. Sony Ericsson's concept phone, the GreenHeart, features bio-plastic and recycled plastic. Motorola has introduced the MOTO W233 Renew, which is made from recycled plastic bottles.

These green phones prove that creating a device made from recycled materials is possible, but one green product by itself will not make a difference, according to ABI Research Director Kevin Burden. "Proof products that epitomize a vendor's best greening efforts are currently being marketed," says Burden, "but very few handset manufacturers are highly motivated to produce an entire line of green phones. Instead, some of the proven green elements will trickle down throughout future product lines."

Manufacturers are expected to offer more sustainable products in the future, but recycling is still important. "We are trying not only to launch more environmentally conscious products with more renewable material, but also to expand our phone recycling system," says Geesung Choi, president of Samsung's telecommunication business, "because recycling materials contributes to environmental sustainability."

The cell phone industry seems to be heading in the right direction; now cell phone users need to do their part. If only a fraction of cell phone users recycled their phones, the impact would be huge environmentally.

Communications News' GreenTech column focuses on a variety of issues concerning the green IT movement. You can contact Associate Editor Denise DiRamio at ddiramio@comnews.com .