Why Are Mobile Phone Recycling Rates Still So Low?

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 8:26 am

According to recent figures from the Environmental Protection Agency in the US, only 10% of old mobiles are recycled every year.  Other figures suggest the rate is even lower.

Experts think there are a number of reasons for this trend.  One reason is public awareness.  We are now trained to recycle our paper, tin cans, glass bottles, plastics – they get collected from outside our front door or picked up from our office, so it’s relatively easy.  But it’s not that easy for us to recycle our old phones yet.

Another reason is that old mobile phones can easily stay hidden away gathering dust in the back of a draw and we don’t notice them in comparison to larger obsolete items like old TVs.

Experts are calling on network providers, retailers, and manufacturers to all take responsibility for increasing mobile phone recycling rates.

Washburn, an analyst with Forrester Research says:“The handset manufactures can help by designing for recyclability, but also incorporating fewer parts and greener parts into the device coupled with greener manufacturing and supply chain processes.  But retailers…are also participating by offering customers recycling drop off points in their stores regardless of where the device was originally bought.” Washburn thinks that network providers have the biggest impact because, “they own the ongoing customer billing and service relationship.”

He thinks the retailers and network providers can do a number of small things to promote recycling including:

  • Training sales staff to inform customers of recycling options and how to recycle devices.
  • Market recycling initiatives in monthly statements or weekly circulars.
  • Providing more financial incentives.
  • Providing a pre-paid envelope to make it easy to post old phones back for recycling.
  • Allow customers to print prepaid postage stamps to mail old devices to recycling centers.

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