Greentech Lead Africa: Handset major Nokia has
strengthened its mobile phone recycling initiatives by partnering with local
mobile service providers and retail outlets.
The company will collect and dispose off counterfeit
phones, ahead of the planned switch-off of these devices by the Communications
Commission of Kenya (CCK), allAfrica reported.
The company recently partnered with major service
providers including Safaricom, Airtel, Nakumatt, Naivas, Phonelink, and Tuskys
as part of its plans to set up an additional 100 collection points across the
country.
As CCK’s planned switch-off nears, there has been
mounting concern amongst Kenyan NGO’s, environmental agencies and consumers as
to what will happen to the devices once they are discarded. Currently there are
over two million fake handsets in the country. Once they are switched off, the
handsets will end up in landfills, contributing mass piling up of e-waste.
“Consumers in Kenya, like in many countries across
the globe, are unaware of the environmental benefits of recycling their broken
or unwanted mobile phones, “says Bruce Howe, general manager for Nokia
East Africa.
As the cost of minerals increases, mobile phone recycling
offers lucrative opportunities for recycling vendors. Mobile phones contain
lithium, gold, silver, neodymium, rare earths and other valuable materials, so
recycling companies are keen to reuse them for future use.
“The reality is that mobile phones contain many
valuable and useful materials that can be recycled, including precious metals
and plastics. In fact, for every one million phones recycled, it is possible to
recover nearly 35kg of gold and 350kg of silver, which can be re-used in the
production of future electronic goods,” according to Howe.
Several e-waste
companies such as GTSO’s mining subsidiary, GTSO Resources, are working to
capitalize on this growing supply of unwanted wealth.
Earlier this month, GTSO Resources signed a letter of
intent to acquire Global Cell Buyers, an emerging U.S.-based e-waste
recycling company, a move that could potentially allow GTSO to optimize
recovery of lithium, gold, neodymium, rare earths and other valuable materials
from unwanted cell phones. The company is in talks with a leading e-waste
recycler in Latin America, as well.
 Apple iPhone 5 release windfall opportunity for e-waste
recyclers, says Green Technology Resources
The recent iPhone 5 launch is expected to further boost
the e-waste recycling industry. With iPhone 5 sales expected to solar soon
after its launch, old smartphones will be flushed to the e-waste recycling
mills.
editor@greentechlead.com
Â