Green Technology: What Do I Do With My Old Cell Phones?

March 25, 2010 - By Jacinta C. Baca

I have a habit of giving my old cell phones to my younglings for their playtime enjoyment. The other day as I was doing my yearly sweep of their toy box, I unearthed and amazing seven used cell phones! My guilt of disposing of these big hunks of plastic in a receptacle had accumulated to an embarrassing amount. This made me think of unimaginable amount of computer parts, cell phones and chargers that are manufactured and disposed of every year.

In addition to the enormous amount of waste accumulated, these devices are made of toxic materials that seep into our soil and water, and pollute our planet. What’s actually in these things that is so bad for the environment?

These devices are mainly composed of:

• arsenic (used in some semiconductors)
• brominated compounds (used as flame retardants)
• lead (used in the solder that attaches components to circuit boards) (Grinning Planet.com)

I visited Earth Link Security for some informative methods on how to safely recycle our old electronics. Here are a few bullets points included on the site:

• Check out manufacturer give back programs
• Donate old devices to organizations that accept old computers / devices
• Research legitimate recycling programs and recycle the right way
• Extra note: Make sure you erase old information due to security safety

One environmentally friendly policy in progress, The GSMA mobile phone industry is looking to standardize chargers for all cell phones by 2012. The cell phone companies on board to comply are 3 Group, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, Nokia, Motorola, Orange, Qualcomm, Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, T-Mobile, LG, AT&T to name a few. The standard USB interface will not only meet higher energy efficiency but will also save energy by 50 per cent (TrendUpdates.com). Such a move will help in the reduction of environmental hazards regarding the greenhouse gases produced from manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers a year. No matter what type of phone you use, you will be able to use your old charger when purchasing a new phone or needing to use a friend’s.

So, as I type this post on my very toxic keyboard whose technology will be obsolete in about ten years, I set a goal to make sure that although I will not be around in 100 years, this keyboard won’t either.

Recycle, recycle, recycle!

References:

Wasserman, Elizabeth.” Safely Recycle Old Computers and Gadgets.” Earth Link Security. 2007. http://www.earthlinksecurity.com/articles/Recycle/index.html

“Dial M for Municipal Waste.” Grinning Planet.com. 13 Nov. 2003. http://www.grinningplanet.com/2003/cell-phone/environmental-issue-19.htm

“Mobile Chargers to be Made Compatible with Any Phone.” Trends Updates.com. 25 Feb. 2009. http://trendsupdates.com/mobile-chargers-to-be-made-compatible-with-any-phone/