Mobile Phone Recycling: Treasures in the drawer

Jul 19

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Mobile Phone Recycling: Treasures in the drawer

"Greenwashing" is the magic word: In old phones are valuable resources such as copper or gold. Mobile operators use the equipment so you back. So they do something for profit, the environment and polish to their image.

Tons of Gold compliant? There you go! You just empty the drawers of the human race, have the Alt-contained mobile herauspurzeln and voila: Each year, approximately 1.2 billion mobile phones sold worldwide. The devices contain valuable materials, including copper, gold and palladium. But instead of the obsolete latitude d520 battery machines for their often no longer than 18 months of service life cycle again supplied to the recycling, they will be hoarded and gather dust. In Germany alone, experts estimate, giving only about one percent of users their worn-out equipment for recycling.

Not only environmentalists want to change that. The resources are preserved by the continued use of old equipment and the valuable components of the recycled phones can be reused in the production – which cuts costs. But in German households were stored about 60 million retired cell phones, Steffen Holzmann, Project "Eco-IT ‘estimates for the German Environmental Aid (DUH). This has potential.

The mobile operators in Germany are trying with the recovery time a green to give a social time painting. Sun donates E-Plus, the proceeds of recycled cell phones to the Malta Ambulance Corps, for example for working with disabled people or for care services. Vodafone can send processed data according to their own devices in developing countries. O2 agrees to € 2.50 per returned phone on the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) forward. "The revenues that can be generated from the old phone will be" of all network operators put in good projects, confirmed Holzmann. The environment itself wont help with T-Mobile an appropriate partnership.

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Holzman sees the initiatives are not only image-polishing: That was more than greenwashing. The companies would have understood that they have a problematic product, must be spent wisely with the. Because the devices contain not only by the precious metals as well as coltan, which would be obtained, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo under "very questionable circumstances."

Except for circumstances like these, is a wooden man than environmentalists for recycling and proper disposal of pollutants contained: for a possible high rate of recycling, separate collection of devices is crucial. From the local recycling center, so the "waste electrical and electronic equipment for the Register," which all devices, whether toaster or radio, reacts to the same fate, does not recommend the expert. Special mobile collection actions against the guaranteed "separating" – as well as the proper disposal of harmful batteries.

For the efficient recycling almost any mobile phone shop take back old equipment. Alternatively, the mobile operators provide return envelopes for the free shipping of discarded phones in the correct address. The website of the Nature Conservation can be searched for mobile collection points near their own residence. "Recovery rates of up to 75 percent are possible," says Holzmann. 20-25 percent of metals contained a mobile device, on average, and 50 percent plastics, which would be partly converted into thermal energy.

"Professional buyers" like zonzoo.de be trusted in general, "offers When someone money for your old device, then the probability that he will use it again, relatively high." The Professional Recyclers tried quite successful, to market the device "on second and third markets" – in Asia or Africa. With latitude d420 battery each second life of a cell phone, the production of a new device unnecessary stresses Holzmann.

Mobile phones do not belong in the household waste

Of course understand that cell phones do not belong in the garbage, which prohibits the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). But there was still a better deal than recycling: "It is best if mobile phones are used as long as possible." With ever-faster model cycles put the manufacturers, however, strong incentives for the ongoing replacement of equipment.

Against this background, calls for the development organization of German Watch the four German mobile operators to set incentives for the cell phone recycling. One suggestion is to increase the selling price of a new mobile phone when the old one is not returned.

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