Recycling organisations told to improve by UN
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - 19:46:53
A UN report into the way in which precious metals and other elements contained in mobile phones and associated gadgetry are recycled, has found that many firms involved in the process are failing to account for large quantities of these materials.
The study found that of all the scrap metal in the world around 33 per cent of the different types see half of the annual output recycled, while the other is sent to landfill or remains unclaimed, according to Reuters.
The speciality metals mentioned in the report, many of which go into making the key components with mobile phones, are seen as essential to help fuel growing economies in developing regions of the world, but experts believe too much is wasted because of inadequate recycling programs.
Spokesperson, Jacqueline McGlade, said that the whole of the green tech industry was reliant on precious, rare materials because they are needed in everything from hybrid cars to wind farms. The problem is that it is these uncommon, difficult to source metals which are the most likely to get dumped rather than recycled, increasing the expense of creating green products.
Mobile phone batteries are the most common recycled element, according to the report, but the regulators want to see consumers and governments doing more to make sure the vital elements of old handsets are not lost but instead reused to benefit everyone.
The real issue here is that people living in developed nations to the west are consuming far more precious materials than those in less wealthy countries and, as such, the disparity needs to be addressed if continued growth can be assured for all involved.
There is not an entirely optimistic outlook identified in the report but it should reinforce the importance of recycling your old mobile phone to prevent waste.
Latest News
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 10:32:41
Every industry around the world has been impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and recycling has been especially affected as a result of force [...]
Read More
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - 21:33:36
Apple has pulled back the curtains on the all-new iPhone SE, bringing with it a raft of eco-friendly design features which aim to improve the green cr [...]
Read More
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - 21:32:00
Researchers from New Zealand have demonstrated a new recycling solution which could help companies to reclaim rare materials from smartphones, PCs and [...]
Read More