China faces mobile recycling dilemma
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 09:28:53
Each year almost half a billion mobile phones are replaced in China, meaning that hundreds of millions of old devices are effectively taken out of circulation. However, because just two per cent of old handsets are recycled, the country is now having to consider the extent of the e-waste issue it has to overcome, according to ECNS.
Experts estimate that around one billion unwanted devices are sitting unused in China at the moment, with this figure continuing to increase as the recycling infrastructure and culture has yet to reach similar levels to those seen in the UK and the US.
From the plastic exteriors to the valuable minerals contained within, there are many parts of old mobiles which can be reclaimed and recycled. There are also toxic materials which need to be disposed of safely, which is another factor to consider as problematic.
Recycling expert, Zheng Fujiang, explained that there was a widespread lack of awareness among Chinese consumers about the benefits of mobile phone recycling, or even the fact that there are services available to them to help process unwanted handsets in a sustainable way.
Refurbishing and reselling used mobiles is still the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of handling this type of e-waste, although this is not possible in every case, especially if the device in question is damaged beyond repair or too old to be desirable.
It is hoped that the government will take action to change this state of affairs, both providing funding to promote mobile phone recycling and helping the start-ups that are operating in this industry with subsidies.
Even in the west there is much more to be done about the issues of e-waste and mobile phone recycling, with lessons that can be learnt in other parts of the world.
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