At the age of 21 years I have used approximately six mobile phones. I have lost one, one was broken and thrown away after being put through the washing machine, one was lent to a friend and stolen, two sit in my drawer at home and one is currently resides in my handbag.
Mobile waste has become a rising concern among many environmentalists as it is the fastest growing source of urban pollution. As as form of e-waste, mobiles that are not properly disposed of can have serious toxic environmental and health consequences due to the amount of lead, mercury and cadmium in electronic devices.
Chemicals and toxins from e-waste are known to lead to serious health problems like reproductive failures, deformities, thyroid malfunctions, immune suppression and behavioural abnormalities.
Not only do mobile phones have toxic parts, but they also have a very short life span – often discarded (or handed down) when cell phone contracts are renewed once every two years.
The problem is introduced when the electronic devices are dumped in landfills, or are shipped off to developing countries that have lower environmental standards so that the waste can be processed. Currently electronic waste represents two percent of America’s trash in landfills, and equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste. It is estimated that America alone exports 80 percent of its e-waste to China, India and Pakistan.
E-waste is becoming more of a problem in Africa. Nigeria is fast becoming one of the most popular countries in the world to dump e-waste. Children sift through the e-waste, the poor burn it for fuel and groundwater is becoming contaminated by landfills filled with electronic waste.
The good news is that Nokia is helping to combat the problem by setting up waste dumping centres across East Africa to reprocess old mobile phone waste, including batteries. Nokia will collect mobile phone waste for recycling and repairs as part of its environmental policy of reducing emissions of electronic waste.
So instead of leaving all those cell phones in your drawer at home, or throwing them away, why not take your old phone to a collection point for safe recycling, for a cleaner and safer environment for us all.
To read more about how the web is trying to go green check out Qudsiya Karrim’s post on the Social Media blog!
Mobbed by Mobile Media 