Group targets cell phone waste

An environmental research group is calling on cell phone makers to think green in designing their products.

New York-based Inform on Wednesday released a report highlighting what it says are the environmental and health threats posed by discarded cell phones. By 2005, the group says, 130 million of the devices--totaling about 65,000 tons--will be thrown away every year in the United States.

Once the phones end up in landfills or incinerators, they could pose a problem because of ingredients such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and flame-retarding chemicals, according to Inform. That warning echoes the word from other environmental groups and a number of governments about the dangers posed by other types of "e-waste" such as discarded PCs and computer monitors.

Inform wants manufacturers to reduce the use of those substances in cell phones and to design them for easier disassembly, reuse and recycling. It is also calling for manufacturers to implement take-back programs and to provide financial incentives to encourage consumers to return their old cell phones and other wireless electronic devices such as pagers, portable digital assistants and MP3 players.

PC makers and electronics makers have already started experimenting here and there with take-back programs--often at a small cost to the consumer--and are moving slowly toward an industrywide system.

Cell phone sales have been relatively sluggish in recent months, but still total some 400 million handsets sold worldwide every year, according to industry researchers.

[ranger1701]

recycle the damn battery

I've been selling cell phones for 10 years and and am close to being a rabid environmentalist. The time to suggest or insist that the old phone and battery is recycled is during the presentation of the customer's new phone. Part of being a "good" salesperson is to offer a "complete solution", which is industry jargon for add-ons such as headsets and car adaptors. I've acutally been warned by my management to tone down my presentation because when I ask the customer what they are going to do with the old phone I remind them that it is a FEDERAL offense to throw it in the trash can which gets their attention. Then I add it also makes the babies come out really funny, and I squinch my face and do a awkward arms around my head pose which can frighten small children. My managers are referring to the customers pulling back a little but the point is made. If it grosses them out for a second, thats a small price to pay to get people to realize that heavy metals in the waste stream cause serious birth defects. I also take this opportunity to remind them that all rechargable batteries need to be recycled and we happen to have a recycle collection box in the store. My customers have been known to bring back rechargable drills and electric toothbrushed to the cell phone store. Maybe not everyone will use this but every battery reclaimed is a life made better.