Recycle Mobile Phone – Green idea from Germany
According to an estimate of Germany, the 83 million mobile phones are forgotten in the drawers of houses. To overcome this problem, there are several options: you can sell your old mobile phone on eBay, you can return it to the retailer in exchange for a deposit, or it can be disposed of by an ad hoc group that will use the old device for the sake of the environment and for humanitarian purposes. You which way you choose to recycle your mobile phone?
According to statistical data, in Europe, you change the mobile phone on average once a year. This results in excessive production of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) that are often not even collected in special ecological islands. According to the Device Renewal Forum, which aims to raise awareness and manufacturers on the importance of recycling cell phones, recycles only 1% of the units.
An interesting initiative in the recycling of mobile phones comes from Germany. The party of the German ” Green ” has put forward a proposal to encourage consumers to dispose of materials into the environment. It is to leave a deposit of 10 € when buying mobile phones or smartphones that would be returned at the end of the cycle of use of the device. According to German estimates, there would be over 83 million old mobile phones forgotten here and there in the houses.
This happens either because the companies do not promote a return of the phone is the same because the owners are not informed about the real possibility of being able to recycle. A huge amount of money: the second green to overcome the major problem of electronic waste is necessary to encourage consumers to return the phones, so they can be recycled properly.
If the project were to find a positive response, the security could also extend to computers, tablets, and video games have explained the parent company of the German Greens, Renate Kuenast and Juergen Trittin.
However, despite the initiative has already received a considerable accession of public opinion, some retailers were opposed, including Bernhard Rohledr, general secretary of the German electronics manufacturers BITCOM. Indeed, he argues that such a move would destroy the refund system is already active in Germany, and the amount of bureaucracy that results cannot be compared to any benefits.
There is the collection of phones by MAGIS (Movement and Action of the Jesuits in Italy for Development). These objects acquire a new value through the reuse of a specialized society that ensures the MAGIS a fee for each phone received from Italy. This income is then reinvested to fund various projects, such as, for example, the construction of a school for children with AIDS.
Those are no longer usable are disposed of correctly, while only broken are repaired and placed in the used market. MAGIS has sought to open more than 450 collection centers across the country. A gesture of solidarity that helps the user to recycle the phone the correct way and help especially those most in need. It clear that there are also positive aspects from an environmental point of view.
On the one hand, Germany offers the security solution: when buying a smartphone, you pay 10 Euros, which will then be returned to the time of disposal of the phone itself.
On the other hand, organizations such as the MAGIS operating in Italy, propose plans for the disposal and recycling of mobile phones that are humanitarian and environmental purposes. Assuming that the cell phone is so old that it cannot be re-sold on eBay … not even the Italian user which solution do you prefer?
