Fewer Than One in 10 U.S. Consumers Recycled Their Old Mobile Handsets in Q4
The good news for the environment is that U.S. consumers who bought new mobile handsets in the fourth quarter of 2007 recycled their old phones at double the rate that they did in the third quarter.
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What US Consumers Did With Their Old Mobile Phones
The bad news for the environment is that even after the rate nearly doubled, only 9.4 percent of those consumers took the recycling option in the fourth quarter, according to data from iSuppli's ConsumerTrak service.
"iSuppli's fourth-quarter survey indicated that while U.S. consumers increasingly are recycling their old handsets, there's still plenty of room for improvement," said Greg Sheppard, chief development officer for iSuppli.
"More U.S. consumers were motivated to recycle their handsets by the rising awareness of green issues when it comes to disposal of electronic waste. Wireless companies are promoting the recycling of old phones, making it easier for consumers to do so. For example, Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program collects old phones at its stores and then refurbishes them for sale, or recycles them in an environmentally responsible way."
So what did the other 91 percent of new handset buyers do with their old handsets?
"More than one third of all old handsets, 36.8 percent to be precise, were stored away in the fourth quarter of 2007, and now are collecting dust in closets throughout America," Sheppard noted. "Consumers keep their old phones because they perceive them to have some residual value. However, all too often, those handsets end up in the trash when spring cleaning comes."
The next most common fate for old mobile handsets in the fourth quarter was to be given away to family or friends. iSuppli's ConsumerTrak survey indicated that 15.5 percent of U.S. consumers gave away their old mobile handsets in this fashion in the fourth quarter. Another 8.5 percent of consumers donated their handsets to charities.
Another 5.7 percent said they retuned their old phones to the retailers where they originally bought them.
Toxic trash
A disturbingly high number of U.S. consumers surveyed, 10.2 percent, said they either threw away their old handsets, or had them stolen or lost in the fourth quarter.
"Simply throwing away a mobile handset is not an environmentally responsible action," Sheppard noted. "Mobile handsets include hazardous materials, including mercury and lead. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates Americans discard 125 million phones each year, creating 65,000 tons of waste. All this toxic waste can pollute air and groundwater."
Better handset disposal
iSuppli's ConsumerTrak survey indicated that 8 percent of U.S. consumers who bought new phones in the fourth quarter are keeping and using their old handsets. Another 3.1 percent sold their old phones and 2.7 percent didn't know.
The figure in the attached file shows what U.S. consumers who bought new handsets in the fourth quarter did with their old phones based on percentage.
Posted to the site on 5th February 2008