Trash Talk Recycling Your Old Cell Phone

Walking down the cornice in Abu Dhabi, a friend and I decided to sit outside a fast food joint and confabulate while looking at the magnificent ocean in the distance. Armed with a couple of milkshakes, we went outside to sit in the courtyard when I saw a sign that said, “Don’t kill the environment-recycle your old mobile phones are here.” Underneath the sign was a box.

The Pakistani at in us, of course, ensured snooping around and so we went to see if Arabs actually think people would dump their old mobiles phones in a box instead of reselling them. To my surprise there were dozens of branded mobile phones in the box. My friend actually took out his Sony Ericsson K750i to check if his was in a better condition than the one lying in the box.

I've read in national paper that many mobile phone companies like O2 phones, Nokia, and Samsung among others are trying to become more environment-friendly by including the use of organic materials in their long-term plans. It was actually o2 mobile company that started the trend by reducing the contents of harmful elements like cadmium, lead, nickel, mercury, and many more from their phones. However, I've never heard of a scheme that includes the collection of old mobile phones. As we came closer, we saw other individuals who were also snooping around and were probably curious too. 

Once our curiosity was abated, we began to discuss why people would spend so much money on these high-end phones and then just dump them in a box to be recycled. I was then reminded that mobile phones and other electronic devices like PDA’s and digital cameras contain toxic substances which are slowly and gradually killing the environment. I stole a quick look at my beloved Z610i and tried to convince myself that since I maintained my phone so carefully that there were no way my phone could play a part in this unforgivable crime. But alas! After researching online, I learned to the contrary. I wondered then what they do with these recycle mobile phones.

I couldn’t help but question the possibility that countries with environmental awareness ‘recycle’ these phones by discarding them off to third-world/developing countries like Pakistan. Admittedly, there is a rather cheap market for mobile phones in Pakistan.

Everyone – from teenagers to senior citizens, from rich to poor, literate to illiterate – uses a mobile phone even in this era of steady inflation. Where do people get such expensive-looking phones and who do cell phone dealers get second-hand phones so that they are able to sell them at ridiculously low prices?

According to the Canadian National cell phone recycling program mobile phones in good condition are sent to regions all over the world where there are no landlines or where new mobile phones are unaffordable, These phones are cleaned up and new batteries and screens are installed to make them look brand new.

I doubt we have such facilities available to us and so, since returning from Abu Dhabi, every time I hear a mobile phone ring, I fear it’s poisoning the earth. Every time I talk on the phone, I wonder how much I’ve damaged the environment – but it is an addictive gadget especially when it comes to text messaging. Sometimes I try to remember what I do for communication and entertainment in the Pre-mobile phone era.

Mobile phones are not the end of it, I discovered. There is also a large industry for refurbished computers and others electronics in Pakistan and nearby South Asian countries. These have been growing rapidly over the years. Consumers in devolving courtiers are provided the purchase option of revamped computer which are a potential threats to the environment. This is a nuisance stemming from countries with richer economies.

Some brands now make environmentally friends products and try to raise awareness. They believe that if they produce innovative products, people will be compelled to buy newer models, forcing them to discard older ones and hoping consumers recycle their old machines before they becomes a threat to the environment.

 According to the Environmental Protection Agenoy (EPA), television picture tubes and monitors contain an average of four pounds of lead. Lead also often used in circuitry and other device components, potentially causes high blood pressure, neuropathies damages the kidneys and liver and also adversely affects child development, Poor child development, though it may stem from several other reasons, is quite common in our part of the world. Similarly extreme exposure to beryllium used for significant portions of electrical connectors and battery contacts, an actually cause Berylliosis a lung disease.

As long as electronic products continue to comprise a witch’s brew of toxic chemicals and are designed without in recycling in mind, they continue to pose a threat to the world at large. Pakistan is bound by law not to import e-waste. However, the local market does not recognize these second-hand electronics as e-waste just yet.