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Recycling, Operators and Handset Vendors, Global

When it comes to mobile phone take-back, refurbishment and reuse, which extend the life of the product, are clearly preferential to recycling. On average, more than 70% of collected handsets from developed countries could be refurbished. However, take-back rates are low as research shows that old mobile phones are typically kept by customers, while relatively few are dumped in landfills sites.

A 2008 survey of 6,500 people in 13 countries reported that 44% kept their old phone, 25% gave it to friends or family, 16% sold their used phone (especially in emerging markets), 3% are recycled and 4% are thrown into landfill. About 16% (by weight) of a typical mobile phone is considered ‘high value’ materials. For example, 1 tonne of electronic circuit boards yields about the same amount of gold as 110 tonnes of gold ore.

Industry-led take-back schemes have existed in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the USA since the late 1990s and predate legislative requirements. There are now provisions for the collection of used phones in more than 80 countries around the world. In countries without a strong tradition of recycling, the number of intact phones returned is likely to be small unless there is substantial investment in awareness raising and infrastructure.

In developing countries, the informal repair sector tries to reuse phone parts as spares and only components that can’t be recycled in this way will become available for collection. A pilot recycling project30 was run by Vodafone in Kenya in 2007/08 and collected, on average, half a kilogram of waste per week from each repairer. Nearly a quarter of the waste collected was phone casings, 22% batteries and 20% chargers.

Recycling of network equipment is also important. While regulated in the EU according to the WEEE Directive31, some telecom equipment suppliers, such as Ericsson, have chosen to offer product take back of network equipment globally, and have set targets which exceed the WEEE requirements.

A number of mobile telephony companies have launched initiatives to encourage consumers to increase handset recycling:

• Telenor has teamed up with the Red Cross to recycle mobile phones. For each user returning a mobile phone, the user will receive 50 free SMSs and the Red Cross will plant 25 trees in Asia. Of the phones collected, those damaged will be recycled and those that can be repaired will be sold in Asia with the proceeds going to the Red Cross.
• AT&T is working with a charity that recycles used mobile phones and purchases prepaid phone cards for troops overseas with the proceeds. AT&T's 2,200 stores collect handsets on behalf of the charity, making it simpler for consumers to recycle their old phones.
• Sprint's Wireless Recovery Program takes back all phones and accessories, regardless of make, and then refurbishes, resells or recycles the phones with the net proceeds going to charity.
• Vodafone has phone and accessory collection schemes in place across virtually all of its markets, collecting 1.8 million devices in 2008/09. Many of these schemes are linked to charitable donations, including a scheme in Italy where the proceeds from selling refurbishable phones funds installation of solar panels for schools.
• Nokia has launched a recycling initiative in Malaysia by placing kiosks in busy shopping malls. The kiosks both collect old phones to be recycled and act as a convenient, automated facility for customers to drop-in phones for service. Nokia plants a tree for every phone dropped and provides the consumer with a unique URL and instructions with which to view their tree through Google Earth.
• The Australian telecoms industry set up "MobileMuster" in 1999 to collect and recycle mobile phone handsets, batteries and accessories. Today it uses a network of over 3,500 mobile phone retailers, local councils, government agencies and business drop off points across Australia32.
• The Korean Association of Information and Telecommunication (KAIT) stages periodical handset collection campaigns to recycle or refurbish used devices. KT and SK Telecom also operate a handset recycling program, collecting used handsets and loaning them to customers who have misplaced or lost phones or are getting their phones repaired.
• China Mobile co-sponsors with handset manufacturers a programme called "Green Boxes Environmental Protection Campaign" aimed at recycling mobile phones and accessories. By the end of 2007, 2.6 million phones and accessories had been recycled, and the goal of the initiative is to have Green Boxes in 80% of all retail sites by 2008, and full coverage by 2009.
• Telefonica O2 in Germany has a recycling programme that allows customers to send their old handsets and accessories, regardless of manufacturer, network or how well they work, to Greener Solutions, a company that specialises in recycling mobile phones. Pre-paid envelopes with instructions are available in all O2 Shops. Part of the proceeds from returned mobile phones are donated to the World Wide Fund for Nature, to support the large-scale nature conservation project "Central Elbe", aimed at water conservation, development of hardwood and softwood riverside forests and support for endangered animal and plant species in Germany. Around 46,000 mobile devices have been collected since 2006.