Mobile phone firms make recycling pledge

Mobile phone firms have agreed to help customers dispose of old handsets in an environmentally friendly way as part of a push towards greater social responsibility.

Motorola, Nokia, Philips and Samsung are among 10 manufacturers who have all signed a voluntary pact with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) which will see them take responsibility for the disposal of phones, many of which contain non-biodegradable plastics and toxic nickel-cadmium batteries.

Klaus Toepfer, executive director of UNEP, told a news conference: "This is a ground-breaking development. I believe we will go more and more into a 'life cycle' economy. We will have more and more producer responsibility for their products from the very beginning to the end."

Although no targets have been set and no schemes announced as yet, with this apparent increase in commitment from manufacturers the onus now switches to the consumer who must learn to partake in schemes, such as those already launched whereby phone users are urged to return old handsets in pre-paid envelopes.

Typically handsets can be smelted to remove metals that can be used again and harmful batteries can be made safe. Other schemes are also in place to redistribute high-tech kit such as mobile phones to third world countries where the technology is still in the comparatively early stages of adoption and roll out.

Earlier this year, Chris Bruce-Payne, COO of handset recycling firm XS Tronix, told silicon.com: "The emerging markets we ship salvageable handsets to are mostly India and sub-Saharan Africa."

He added: "Some analogue 'house-bricks' we get hold of are high in precious metals whereas newer phones are rich in chip content. Chips are traded by a broker to the toy industry."

In the past the disposal of phones and similar products in landfill has been a source of great environmentalist concern. By 2005 the European Union will have in place legislation which will require all mobile phone firms selling handsets in Europe to take responsibility for the disposal of their handsets.