Discarded Mobile Phones Create An Avalanche Of Toxic E-Waste

Thousands of tons of electronic waste hit landfills each year of updates for new phones and discard old ones.


According to British newspaper The Independent, there are already 11,000 tons of used cell phones in the UK that have not yet been eliminated. Most of these phones will be discarded over time, with old phones, portable music players and game consoles. These electronic products are manufactured with metals and other highly toxic chemicals that seep into the soil when discarded.

An estimated 1 billion cell phones are sold each year, with 1 million per day from Nokia itself. Most wireless service providers attract new customers with the promise of a new cordless phone for those who register. While many companies offer to recycle used mobile phones to consumers, the vast majority of phones are still out.

Johan Thomsen, manager of mobile phone operator Green, called the problem of "fear."

"The problem today is that people upgrade their phones every year and only a small percentage of these phones are disposed of safely," he said.

According to Thomsen, the upgrade of approximately 100 million people to new phones every year in Europe alone, even if the handset has an average lifespan of 5 years.

To encourage the recycling of telephone, mobile Green asks new customers to continue using your old phone and rewarded with a lower rate that can be offered by companies that subsidize new phones every year.

The prevalence of recycled phones is expected to increase as the problem of electronic waste enters the public consciousness and stricter regulations for companies to address the problem. ABI Research estimates that these factors, in addition to shorter cycles of your replacement and increased demand for cheaper phones will make the recycled phone market worth U.S. $ 3 billion in 2012, with deliveries of telephone numbering Recycling over 100 million dollars.