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Environmental research group Inform has released a new report on the environmental and waste problems caused by mobile phones in the US.
According to the group's report, "Waste in the Wireless World: The Challenge of Cell Phones," mobile phone use has grown dramatically in the United States, from 340,000 subscribers in 1985 to over 128 million in 2001. The group said that mobiles are typically used for only 18 months before being replaced, and by 2005 about 130 million of these devices, weighing around 65,000 tons, will be retired annually in the US.
Waste in the Wireless World presents a series of specific recommendations for minimising the environmental and health impacts of mobile phone waste, in terms of mobile phone design and waste management.
The report recommends that the use of toxic substances in mobiles, particularly lead and brominated flame-retardants, should be reduced. Manufacturers in Europe and Japan have already eliminated these chemicals from electronic products or have announced plans to do so. US companies are developing alternatives to lead and brominated flame-retardants but have made no commitments to eliminate them from their products, Inform said.
The report also recommends a single technical standard for all mobile phone operators, along with standardised phone design elements in the US and worldwide. Phone systems in Europe already use a single standard, used in over 130 countries by two-thirds of the world's mobile subscribers. In contrast, the US has several competing technical standards.
It also suggests that financial incentives, such as deposit and refund systems, would encourage consumers to return phones and other small electronic devices for collection and reuse and recycling. Other models applicable to mobile phones may be found in the European experience with battery take-back in Austria, for example, customers receive free lottery tickets when they return their spent batteries.
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