Celebrating Mobile Phone Recycling Day: How to recycle phones.
January 24 is Mobile Phone Recycling Day– a day to raise awareness about the importance of recycling mobile phones and reducing e-waste. With millions of unused or discarded mobile phones ending up in landfills, there is a growing need for more sustainable solutions for recycling these devices. Many phone companies have started implementing programs that encourage you to return your old phone in return for a discount on the purchase of a new phone. Several phone companies also have programs encouraging you to buy preloved or refurbished phones to offset your carbon emissions.
But what actually happens to the phones once they are returned? And why is it so important that we recycle them properly instead of throwing them in the landfill? Mobile phones contain toxic substances such as lead, nickel, mercury, and chromium, which can harm the natural environment and even humans if they are left to degrade in landfills.
The metals that make up our mobile phones can be recycled and reused, and keeping them in circulation is a good way to reduce resource depletion. A million discarded mobile phones could source 16 tonnes of copper, 350 kg of silver, 34 kg of gold and 15kg of palladium. Recycling a million cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to taking over 1300 cars off the road for a year.
Mobile phone recycling can work in two ways. One method is combining several broken phones’ working parts to make one ready-to-use cell phone. This refurbished phone can be sent back into circulation without ever needing newly manufactured parts or natural resources. Another method is to melt down and separate the components of the phone to extract valuable natural resources such as gold and platinum and even plastic and glass.
Apple, the creator of iPhones, has been a pioneer in recycling mobile phones and has been known to reuse many of the materials in their new products. In 2021, close to 60% of all the aluminum Apple shipped in its products came from recycled sources. The gold used in their logic boards and wiring comes exclusively from recycled content. Moreover, 13 percent of certified recycled cobalt used in iPhone batteries can be disassembled and returned to the market.
The company also has several robots, which help make the phone recycling process easier and more efficient. Their robots can separate magnets from audio modules and recover rare earth elements, tungsten, and steel. Their phone recycling robot, Daisy, functions at a speed of 200 iPhones an hour and is capable of recycling 1.2 million devices a year.
On Mobile Phone Recycling Day, many organizations host events and initiatives to collect and recycle old mobile phones and educate people on how to reduce their e-waste. If you’re thinking of exchanging your phone for a different model, today is the day. Other ways to celebrate include
- Finding a recycling facility near you.
- If you are looking for ways to repurpose, repair, or refurbish your old devices, click here to learn more.
- Celebrate Mobile Phone Recycling Day.
- Finding charities that accept old phones (working or not). They can raise funds by selling them to recycling companies.
- Participating in the Forest is Calling Pledge. This pledge involves extending the life of your mobile device by keeping it for longer than the two-year average or recycling your unwanted mobile devices.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Mobile Phone Recycling Day, always keep in mind that your e-waste should never be thrown into the garbage and that there are always options to throw or give away your old devices sustainably. Recycling your mobile phone can help protect the environment, animal habitats, and human health, so make sure do your part!
