Slashdot Mirror
Discarded Cell Phones
psychictv points to a NYT story about discarded cell phones as an environmental hazard. The study mentioned in the article is available online. Every year or so we run a story on paper, disposable cell phones but even these would generate a fair amount of waste.
Aren't there a few places that recycle cell phones? I'm pretty sure I saw something like that on /. before.
What I don't understand is why these aren't being recycled just like computers get recycled (NOT by kids in China mind you). The batteries are nothing new, either.
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
In general we're moving toward a trend of throwaway technology - I wonder what kind of impact this will have when it comes to (pocket|desktop) PC's of the future
Give them an operation lifetime of what, a year before they're replaced, that's quite a pile of equipment stacking up.
// -- http://www.BRAD-X.com/ --
when the phones go to a single chip. In our head.
I feed them to my personal Robot Rosie. She also enjoys PDA, Cogs and Sprockets.
Doesn't anyone these days enjoy a good Jetson References. DAMN KIDS these days!
'Every year or so we run a story on paper, disposable cell phones but even these would generate a fair amount of waste.'
Huh? I don't understand this sentence.
There certainly should be some sort of profit in recycling them, especially in the surface mount packages.
I can see the fnords!
After all, they're made from the same stuff as your computer or your VCR. If other electronic devices, made from the same component parts, pose an environmental hazard, why is it a surprise when cellphones follow the same pattern?
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
A group called Collective Good will take your cell phones and recycle them. Not only do developing nations get phones, but the people who refurbish them are trained. An interview with Seth Heine the founder of the group, explains a little more.
It's a way to give back that doesn't hurt you or cost you anything.
I know that at here you can donate to womens shelters for use as emergency 911 phones, they don't need to have service to call 911.
*narf!*
It's nice to know that we have an overproduction/disposal problem with cell phones, but aren't the pounds and pounds of lead in monitors and cases much more of a hazard?
Why, o why must the sky fall when I've learned to fly?
After moving 3 states away from my coverage, I learned of a thing called "roaming"... learned it to the tune of 350 bucks... I disposed my cell phone by testing out gravity from the second story of my apartment complex... I'd like to state, as of last August at least, Gravity Still Works.
Humor folks, enjoy it. =)
(and for all you trolls who are going to flame me for "not know what roaming is" there were other factors not the least of which is phone companies suck alot, monopolistic bastards, and yes, I was aware I was roaming, there was simply no other choice for about 3 months...)
This is my sig. Its pathetic.
As the article mentions, there are a number of charities that will accept used cellphone donations. One of the largest is the "Donate a Phone CALL to PROTECT" program that Motorola runs (they accept any model of phone, not just Motorolas). Phones are either refurbished and then distributed to domestic violence victims, or sold, and the proceeds go to domestic violence prevention programs. More information is available at: http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/12give/index2.cf m
dunno about the rest of the country/world, but around here (Washington DC) you can drop your old cell phone off at many local police stations. the phones are then given to a group who recondition and reprogram them to dial only 911 (the emergency police number) and are given to women who are victims of domestic violence.
I don't understand why so many people are tossing out their old cellphones in the first place?
Every old cellphone I've ever owned, I was able to resell for at least $15 on eBay. (Often times, for much more than that!)
People who don't want to be locked into 1 or 2 year long contracts often buy your "useless" old cellphones, so they can keep them in their vehicles as spares for emergencies.
CollectiveGood is the mobile phone recycling resource. If you have a spare mobile phone sitting on a shelf or in a drawer, you can recycle it here in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. At CollectiveGood, you can:
Preserve the environment by keeping your used mobile phone out of a landfill, and by recycling it back into reuse
Be rewarded for your good deed with a thank you letter and tax-deduction for your in-kind donation to a charity
Think mobile phone recycling is a good idea? Share it!
If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
They're advertizing $50-$100 off a new phone if you trade in an old one.
--
# Canmephians for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.net";
Aren't cell phones dangerous enough when being USED? As if car accidents and brian cancer weren't enough, now we learn they kill the environment, too.
Ironically, Radio Shack/Sprint PCS just started running advertisements about trading in any old wireless phone for a credit on a new phone purhcase. Now, it isn't just a straight out recycling program, they still want you to buy a new one. I wonder if they will just takes phones to recycle.
There seems to be a lot of interest in this in the UK now, a few news items and so forth.
If only mobile shops would offer better prices on trade-ins, i'm sure this would reduce the amount of waste..... even if its an old and unwanted phone, i'm sure nokia,sony, and so forth will still have an interest in parts...... or you can sell it on eBay as parts of course......
Every year or so we run a story on paper, disposable cell phones but even these would generate a fair amount of waste.
Not to mention the dangerous buildup of bogonium that would result in the disposal sites.
Weren't the prototype phones always found to be disguised Nokia hardware? Hasn't the company producing these paper phones been denounced as a fraud every time this story comes up?
That should be "hazzard".
There are already organizations that will safely recycle (or even better, refurbish for lower incomes) your old computers (http://www.accrc.org comes to mind for those in cali, us).
There are organizations which will also take your old cellphones. Earth911 (http://www.earth911.org) will use it as a free emergency phone, and the rbrc will take the batteries (http://www.rbrc.org/consumer/).
IMHO, the idea of sending these used cellphones to underprivleged nations doesn't wash, unless you are willing to include some infrastructure with them:)
"Moving through the masses like a fish through water." syrup
I have 3 used cell phones sitting at home. Why? Everytime I have changed service providers I was REQUIRED to buy a new phone. In fact the phone I actively use now it the exact same model as my previous phone. My current provider said it was "not possible" to reprogram the phone to work on their network. He had no answer as to how the charities are able to reprogram them for battered women's shelters.
Until the providers allow cell phones to change networks, the useless ones will keep piling up!
Sign me "Peeved at the artificial waste!"
brian cancer
I've feared Chuck and Bob cancers, too. They're scary as hell.
This is even more distressing when one considers that the capacitors in these discarded cellphones are made of an element (tantalum) with an incredibly high cost of extraction in terms of human suffering. The mining of Ta has exacerbated a war in the Congo (which has over 80% of the world's Ta reserves) that has killed more than three million people. See for example What is Coltan? A google search for coltan congo cell phones turns up more.
I wish there were more specifics on the environmental aspects... Is there something particulartly toxic about cell phones or are they just part of the problem of electronic thingamajigs hitting the landfill?
love is just extroverted narcissism
Phase 1: Collect old cell phones
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
See this article..
Suddenly, seeing one of those "wireless communications make people happier" commercials shortly before seeing one of those "Marijuana funds terrorism" infomercials has become more ironic.
pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7
Over the years, the wireless phone industry has developed a culture of disposability. This is not simply the latest phone fashions or the newest technology. It is also a question of design and manufacturing.
Wireless phone makers design their products with the idea that they won't last more than a year or so. Is it any wonder that we're hearing about environmental issues with that sort of disposable attitude?
Make the phones more durable. Using an expensive
phone for 18 months only and then throwing it away is silly. My mobile phone is from year 1998, I still use it and the newer models do not offer anything that I need.
This may be a simple case of equating new technology with waste, as opponents are apt to do. The truth is, we generate waste everywhere, doing everything.. I don't know of any effect from the waste that will cause governments to mandate producing less or recycling more. The US population seems to put up with any quality of air or water given them.
Eventually, someone must propose money-based incentives for production using waste materials. This is the only way to bootstrap such commerce. We had the aluminum can/glass/motor oil progress 20 years ago. It may be time for more, but who's picking up the bill?
Throw the phones in the garbage and solve the garbage problem.
If the wireless companies are going to sell phones that won't work with any other service provider, it should be their problem when all these crippled phones end up in landfills.
314-15-9265
I have given my last 2 to poor friends of mine. They don't seem to care if it is "old" and "out-of-date."
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/12give/index2.cf m
Donated Phones are Tax Deductible!
In the US, each provider insists on having their own network and poviding their own phones. This severely aggravates the problem, since, as another person pointed out, people get a new phone every time they switch plans/providers. I've gone through 3 phones in 2 years, while I would have been happy keeping the first one. This is less of an issue in Europe (At least in the Netherlands) where providers use standard phones that accept a small SIM-card with the relevant data on it. When you switch providers, just slide the new SIM-card into your old phone and you're all set. When you want to upgrade, slide your SIM-card in a new phone and you're set.
He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
Unwanted mobile phones are still valuable they contain precious metals such as silver (Ag), gold (Au) and Palladium (Pd), as well as copper (Cu) and plastics that can be recycled
There are actually plenty of companies making money, if not fortune, by ripping of valuable materials from the old phones - here's one. They are for now atleast a gold - and a silver mine. I quess you will find out this in US as well, as your mobile phone penetration goes high enough for this "mining business" to turn valuable - they need masses of cell phones for it to be profitable.
Don't the fish there use them as artifical reefs?
[joke!]
Please don't throw away, and worse yet pollute, with something that can be used in such a positive way.
More like (-1, Redundant)
Donate them. If you itemize your tax return, you can write it off.
My girlfriend is looking at a new phone this year, and her current phone will go to a battered women's group. They give the phones to battered women so they can call 911 if the need arises. All phones are supposed to have 911 access even if there isn't any active account with a provider.
These people get paid to find problems, whether they are significant or not. If you think cellphones are a significant problem, I dare you to go to a landfill sometime and try to find just one cellphone.
Nor are the chemicals in them a significant danger. Computer monitors, yes, contain a lot of lead. But all these other stories about the dangers of electronic waste are bullshit scare stories.
I donate my old phones to the poor starving kids of the world.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
We wouldn't have this problem.
Oh, and now the battery clip is broken too, along with the handset piece (although, fortunately, the jack is still working). I give up on that piece of shat. Anyone want a hot deal on that phone? I might be willing to trade for something that doesn't suck...
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
I don't understand why this is a big surprise. Everything we do mostly has a negative impact on Earth and its resources. I believe there was an article on Slashdot that says we are overconsuming the resources on earth.
Dude, we should make cell phones out of hemp. When you're done you can smoke it, then you're only hurting yourself. You might help some college students out along the way.
I am getting my 6th phone in two years from sprint in the mail soon. The backlight broke in my first (Sanyo), got no reception with the second (Sanyo), LCD broke in my third (Kyocera 2255?), got no reception with my fourth (Samsung n240), ditto with fifth (n240) ...and well, we'll have to see what problems I'll have with my sixth (Sanyo 6000) :P Or it could just be that Sprint PCS sucks...well they do!
I take very good care of my phones so the fault definitely lies with the manufacturer (apart from the 2nd which met with an unfortunate collision with a wall after my nth dropped call, otherwise none have been dropped, hit or smooshed).
http://www.phonebashing.com/
They'll take care of it in a jiffy. But I wonder, where do they discard their costumes?
GetTheJob.com : Nothing but Real Jobs.
I've worked as an engineer for cellular (an/dig/PCS/GSM etc.) providers for about 13 years now and stood around many a water cooler chatting with the marketing people.
They have two basic reasons for not wanting your old phone.
1. Sometimes, unbeknownst to you, the reason you had a crappy experience with your other service provider was the phone. This is not a profitable fact to advertise. It is more profitable to claim, "Yes, the other guys suck" and here's proof. You get a new phone and better reception and are convinced the other guys weren't as good, and you tell all your friends. The other problem is with letting you convert a possibly (but unlikely) bad phone is that the problem doesn't go away, and again, the user becomes aware that the old provider had just as good a service.
2. Most providers want to spend as little as possible on sales staff. This means a minimum of training. The simplest solution is to give them a box'o'phones, that all work alike, and train them for two or three different models. Better still is to preprogram the phone with numbers that are in the system, but "suspended." This way, without any knowledge of cell phones at all they can get you to sign a contract, take your money, call the customer care department to have the phone "unsuspended." And Voila! Sales without training.
Unless you change system types (Cell to PCS, PCS to GSM etc.) your phone would work just fine. GSM providers (T-Mobile, Cingular and the like) don't have this hassle since most of the programming is in the removable SIM. With those systems they will charge you a $10-$20 new sim fee and you can slip it into your old GSM phone and keep using all the headsets, batteries, chargers, covers and other stuff you purchased. That is assuming you can put up with their typically lousy rural coverage.
"a NYT story about "
What? No obligatory "Registration required blah, blah, blah"? Is nothing sacred? If this goes, what's next, FP?
People, you've got to stick to the script!
Palladium
Shit! They've got DRM on cell phones already!
Does anyone remember the New York Times running any articles about how hazardous used news papers are to the environment?
No? Me neither.
This is just an observation. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
The metals in the chips and batteries are toxic. The batteries themselves contain acids and other hazardous materials - all batteries come with warnings that they should be disposed of carefully. I am sure MSDSes exist for almost all the components in major electronics today; and the cell phone is no exception. It is not surprising given the recent proliferation of the cellular phone as an 'everyday' item [where they once where a status symbol] that they would have an impact on the environment now that many are being disposed in favor of newer (or functioning) models.
I can't wait to see this same article ten years from now regarding PDAs - except if I ever find any in the dumpster I'll be cannibalizing them.
I think with the interesting people, their lives can't possibly be wrapped up into a nice little package.
seems redundant...
Goodwill Industries will take your phone.
Imagine the waste from all those big cel phones from the 80's.
Lately it's been in the news that polar bears are showing up hermaphroditic due to being at top top of the food chain at the top of the world. It's also reported that the melting polar ice cap may make polar bears extinct. So there's really no need to worry about the hermaphroditic thing, see? Doubtless Nature has a similar plan to take care of the discarded cell phone "problem."
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
One thing you can do is donate your old cell phone. I believe battered women's shelters and/or the YWCA take old cell phones whose service has been cancelled. These organizations give the cell phones to woman who can use them if they need to call 911. 911 will still work on any cell phone, even if the service has been cancelled.
This is much better than throwing one away and it is tax deductable.
Is there another uses for a cell phone ?
Like:
An Xbox becomes a PC.
A motor of a Videoplayer becomes a propeller clock.
Can we use the screen as an LCD ?
Some part to build a ????
I collect them and salvage the display screens
They make great club wear
In florida, it is illegal to toss away your rechargeable battery. You must bring it to a store that sells rechargeables, so that they can return it to a recycling center.
That's 80% of the weight of the phone anyway.
couldn't be that bad - tree huggin foolz
If you want "clean" tantalum, look up north to Manitoba or down south to Australia which produces most of the world's Ta. Contrary to popular belief, the Congo doesn't have 80% of the world's Ta reserves. They do, however, have a hell of a lot of Coltan which is the principle ore used in their "mining" schemes.
Not only is it used for cellphones, but it's also used for that wonderful Corning wear, making fake hips and joints (the body doesn't reject tantalum), it's used in allows for airplanes, nuclear reactors and in capacitors and electronics for your Playstation 2, in most of your computers and you Nintendo Game Cube.
Tantalum is used to produce pesticides, insecticides, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Neat stuff Tantalum.
Just cuz you ain't paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you.
by ridiculous business policies involving phones, such as:
- locking phones so that they can't be used with other carriers (some carriers, such as T-Mobile, will unlock on request after customers have been a customer awhile, but others, such as Sprint PCS, will not unlock under any circumstances)
- refusing to activate phones not specifically sold for use on their network (Sprint PCS again)
- forcing customers to upgrade phones simply to change rate plan (in some cases, such as one being discussed in alt.cellular.verizon right now, carriers are requiring customers who want "local-only" plans to upgrade phones that allow the carrier to incur lower roaming costs -- when the customer doesn't want to roam and/or the plan the customer wants doesn't support roaming!)
The mishmash of cell/PCS technologies used in North America (AMPS, IS-136, CDMA, GSM, iDEN), most IS-136 carriers changing to GSM or (rarely) CDMA, the upgrades by the CDMA and GSM carriers to 2.5G and 3G technologies, etc. only exacerbate the problem...
-SC
#1) Take in old Cell Phones...
#2) ????
#3) PROFIT!!!
Okay, we have to run that gag with every story on Slashdot... It's required by law...
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
We should send all our old cell phones to the Middle East. Cell phones and the Internet have been big heros in the last couple international turmoils. (Remember 9/11?) With the US preparing to topple the Iraqi government, which will destabilize Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and many other nearby countries, we're sure to have a bunch of turmoil coming up. Give the people cell phones, and the resulting politics are likely to be a bit more sane.
I mean, *somebody* out there has to be willing to pay $1.00 for that old cell phone. Hell, I've got friends that can afford the service, but are nervous about paying $100 for a phone.
Yeah, sure, everyone advertises the "free" phone for when you sign up, but amazingly, they are always out of that model when you ask.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
sorry about that guys, I was using a bunch of old nokia 6500s as gravestones in this pet cemetary i run behind my trailer. didnt realize this would heart the earth and all, ill go replace them with posicle stick immidiately.
i always here this have-to-buy-a-new-phone nonsense, the logic is the phones don't work on each others networks.
if one phone can't work on another's network, how is roaming possible?
also the cell phones aren't the lowest hanging fruit. the CHARGERS/power adapters should be recyclable or should work with other phones and devices. no one ever *wants* to upgrade a charger, but you have to, to get it to work with the new phone.
And another to Sprint's recyling program.
Sprint donates the money from recycled phones to Easter Seals, Verizon sells recycles and gives airtime free phones to sufferers of domestic violence.
Either way, my $.02 going for a good cause,
MMMmmmmmm....erotic cakes!!! Homer J. Simpson - Treehouse of Horror VI
i've had two mobile phones in my life. the first one got left in a cab a few weeks after i got it. the second i've now had for 4.5 years and it still works (barely). i'm praying for complete 802.11b coverage before it does finally die.
Recently the mobile industry in the UK is asking people to recycle their phones by provding recycling points in mobile phone shops. Some retailers will even offer a trade in value for your old phone.
Another fine example of a recycled news story from the NYT. I really wonder if they have a macro substution in a generic template article text so that the story can be 'actual news' every 18 months.
This is almost as bad as the:
1. taxes are complicated/many late filers news on April 15th'
2. day after Thanksgiving shopping madness
Does anyone know if there is a journalism almanac where old story ideas are recycled every year on or about the same calendar day?
I can't afford to pay the bill anyway
>> Every year or so we run a story on paper, disposable cell phones but even these would generate a fair amount of waste.
:-P~~~~~ (BLLLLLL !)
Not to mention the other stories...
Definately sounds like a major scam to me! We send over shiploads of useless phones, say "here is a gift for my underpriveledged brother", and they throw them in their trash pile. Presto bango, no more disposal problem for us.
And just how many "Woman's Shelters" are there that we need this many phones? Seems that group would be saturated pretty darn fast. And what happens to the older models once those are useless even for the underpriveledged in our society? They get thrown away. So in the end there is no substitute for recycling.
[news for me, stuff that doesn't matter]
People who live in green houses shouldn't throw phones.
I am unique, just like you, and you, and you...
From reading the posts here it seems there are a lot of battered women in the USA. How many phones do they need?
Roaming is when your phone goes off of the CDMA network (in which your phone is specifically tuned), and onto the more general purpose 800mhz analogue, which doesn't require anything special, as it's an analogue network.
And yes, I agree with you about the charger.
---- I'll take you in a Hunt deathmatch any day.
Any way to rewire them to the same frequency and use the throw-aways as free walkie-talkie's?
What about the screens? I know that some of these newer phones have half-decent low res LCD screens on them, I'm sure someone can find a use for the fuckers. And now I see these newer phones in commercials and such with Color Displays? I'm sure those can be salvaged and reused. Batteries can be Recycled.
(Score:0, Interesting)
not troling, just asking a question...
I have sprintPCS, and i get a "digital rome" service when the sprint network is down, or the tower is too far away. there are other digital networks in my city offered by 3 different providers. Cingular even offers a plan with unlimited roming anywhere. I have personally been on analog rome, digital rome, and sprintPCS network, from a multitude of different providers.
So my question is, how can i get digital rome if my phone isn't tuned to it? Or do you think it isn't tuned to it, but it can still pick it up, though not as well? any insight?
thx
Two infinite things: your stupidity and mine. But I'm not sure about the latter. If my sig offends you, I'm sorry.