WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
What is the Solution?
The solution to the growing problem of mobile phone disposal is simple. All mobile phones can be re-used or recycled.
Re-using or recycling these phones not only keeps the toxic substances out of the environment but also saves precious resources used to manufacture new ones from raw materials.
Re-use can be as easy as handing your outdated mobile to a friend, saving their need to purchase a new one.
If your phone is still working when you return your phone through the Clean Up Mobile Phones campaign, it will be re-used. Your phone may also be refurbished or repaired so it can be re-used.
"Re-use, directly or via repair or refurbishment is usually the preferable option over recycling and disposal from an environmental perspective. Re-use can extend product life and means less environmentally damaging extraction, less energy consumption and less waste. Re-use of second-hand equipment can also often mean a lower price for products, thus increasing accessibility for more people who might not otherwise be able to afford the product."
The Basel Convention and the Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative (MPPI) guidance document, published in November 2006
Clean Up Mobile Phones Fact Sheet (133.86kb)
If your phone is no longer working and cannot be restored, the components of the phone can be recycled.
Recycling mobile phones recovers valuable resources such as copper, gold, silver, nickel and plastic. For more information about the recycling process visit http://www.mri.com.au/
By recycling these, you are avoiding the need to extract new resources. Recycling is an important solution to the growing e-waste problem. The energy and raw materials used to produce millions of new mobile phones contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. By re-using and recycling components of old phones, the overall environmental impact of this waste stream can be minimised.
Every mobile phone returned through the Clean Up Mobile Phones Campaign will mean a donation to Clean Up Australia to help fund further projects to clean up, fix up and conserve the environment.
Our recycling partner is Aussie Recycling Program (ARP). For more information on ARP visit http://www.arp.net.au/
For information on how you can get involved in recycling mobile phones, click here.