ARP : Mobile Phone Waste and The Environment

More than 800 million people around the world currently use mobile phones and that figure is growing daily as consumers get bombarded by advertising campaigns exhorting them to upgrade to the latest, most fashionable model. As a result mobile phones become outdated and new models are introduced faster than the changes in the Melbourne weather.

In Australia only, it is estimated that there were 3.5 million new mobile phone sold in the last 12 months. Now with the introduction of 3G technology and coloured screens, more mobile phones are expected to be sold. The Australian bureau of statistics figures show in the year 2000, 61% of Australian households had mobile phones and this number has steadily risen to 12.8 million mobile phone connections at the end of 2003. The average Australian typically upgrades their phones every 18-24 months.

So if phones are getting upgraded so frequently, what happens to old unwanted phones? Old mobile phones just do not fade away, they are retired to drawers and shelves around the country. It is estimated that Australians are hoarding 10 million phones.

All of us as consumers, perceive value in our old electronic products. As there is usually no trade-in when you upgrade for a new model, our natural hoarding instinct tells us to keep the old phones, give them to relatives, or store them for emergency use. However history also shows that these phones eventually find their way into the rubbish bin and that's where the problem starts. Perhaps you have thrown one out yourself. We need an easy and effective means of disposing of our unwanted phones.

The number of unused or retired phones will keep growing year after year, posing an ever increasing problem for the environment. Only this Christmas the stockpile will grow even larger as new gifts make old phones obsolete. Most mobile phones have components that require specialist treatment to minimize their impact on the environment. The content of mobile phones varies from model to model, and as the technology advances so we will see changes in the composition.

Bioaccumulative (ie build up in fatty tissue so can reach toxic levels over time)

If any of these metals are allowed to leak into the environment, e.g. in a landfill when NiCd battery cases rupture or corrode, in significant quantities, they may leach into the water courses or contaminate the soil. Metals build up in the soil and they can then enter the food chain and in sufficient concentrations may cause health problems.

Chemicals such as these are associated with a range of adverse human health effects, including damage to the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer and genetic impacts.

The health effects of lead poisoning are well known. If lead is absorbed into the bloodstream in sufficient quantities it will cause serious liver and kidney damage in adults and neurological damage in children.

Nickel and mercury are toxic and are classed as hazardous substance. Although Li-Ion batteries are free of heavy metals (lithium has a low atomic number), lithium's high degree of chemical activity can create environmental problems. When exposed to water, which is present in most landfills, the metal can burn, causing underground fires that are difficult to extinguish.