The Secret Life Of Cell Phones
Inform Inc. is a non-profit based in New York City that makes short films to educate the public on the effects of human activity on us and the environment. “The Secret Life of Cell Phones” is one of their short films which gives some eye-opening information about e-waste.
At the beginning of the video, people interviewed admit that they have 5 or 6 cell phones lying around in their junk drawers, or have gone through 15 to 20 cell phones in their lifetime. We live in a time where people are careless with their devices because they know they can easily purchase a new one, or know they’re eventually going to want the latest and greatest version. This carelessness of purchasing new cell phones rolls over when people are getting rid of their old cell phones.
In 1985, there were less than 500,000 cell phones in the country. That is less than one half of ONE million. Today, there are over 270 million cell phones in the United States! If most cell phone users replace their phones every year and a half, this means that most of those 270 million cell phones are being replaced in less than 2 years!
But where do these rejected cell phones go? Some of the individuals interviewed on the streets of New York simply thought to throw their phones in the dumpster. A man interviewed said, “That’s what my friends all do.” The issue is that some people don’t know where to put their old phones; some were shocked when they heard they could actually be recycled! Although that is a step in the right direction, most people might not have a clue where to take them to be recycled.
This film was released at the beginning of 2008 when cell phone recycling was probably still in it’s beginning stages. Fortunately today, cell phone retailers have done a better job about promoting their recycling programs, and recycling centers for residents and businesses have been popping up everywhere.
Inform discussed the issues of dumping the electronics in third world countries. There is a real moral issue about shipping these phones off to countries that don’t have any infrastructure to deal with them appropriately. If they don’t even have a good road system or health centers, what makes people think they have recycling programs to properly handle these cell phones?
Despite the companies that ship their electronics overseas, there are responsible recyclers that are committed to upholding high environmental standards. These are the unique companies that refuse to make third world countries dumping grounds, such as Sunnking! There is enough lead, copper, and other materials in discarded cell phones to classify them as hazardous waste. These substances leach into the soil, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Third world countries don't want these problems as much as we do in the States. Recycling cell phones in an environmentally conscious way means that our families and earth will be safer. Our water and air will be cleaner, and we won't have to do as much mining; there is enough gold in 200 cell phones to make a gold ring!
Bette Fishbein, Senior Fellow at Inform, says the key to helping this problem is to move to a closed loop pattern of materials use. If you use your cell phone for longer than normal and then you recycle it, you move to a closed loop pattern. If recycling electronics doesn’t cost people more and it is relatively convenient, individuals will step up and recycle. Fortunately since this video was made, electronics recycling has become more convenient. But the reality is, we need to keep spreading the word. The word has officially gotten out when the levels of e-waste in the landfills stop rising!
