Recycling mobile phones in emerging markets
Access to mobile communications in emerging markets can bring significant socio-economic benefits. But the rapid growth of the mobile market means that for the first time these countries will have a significant quantity of old handsets to dispose of.
Developing countries often do not have the skills or infrastructure to deal with the disposal of electronic waste safely. We are committed to increasing the capacity for mobile phone recycling in emerging economies, and have so far established recycling programmes in Albania, Egypt and Romania. We are in the process of establishing a handset recycling scheme in Turkey. The phones are collected through our stores in these countries and sent for recycling.
In 2006/07, we commissioned research by sustainable development organisation Forum for the Future to identify ways to increase capacity for recycling used mobile phones in developing countries. The study – based on research in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa – revealed that there is little awareness of the problems of electronic waste in Africa. Developing effective recycling and disposal facilities for mobiles in Africa could bring huge environmental and social benefits as well as sustainable job opportunities.
In Kenya, the study found there is an extensive informal repair market –there are 10 authorised mobile repair centres in the capital, Nairobi, and between 2,000 and 4,000 informal repair businesses across the country. These informal repair centres, not consumers, are the main source of phone waste. In developing countries, generally people will repair and reuse their mobiles, rather than throwing such valuable items away. The repair businesses are a major source of electronic waste as some components cannot be reused. To be effective, any recycling programme must be designed to obtain this waste from small recycling businesses rather than directly from consumers (as is typical in developed countries).
As part of this study, we ran a pilot recycling programme in Kenya in 2007/08 with support from Forum for the Future. Together with development NGO Practical Action, we collected 350kg of waste phones and parts from 64 mobile repair shops over a three-month period. On average, we collected half a kilogramme of waste per week from each repairer. Nearly a quarter of the waste collected was phone casings, 22% batteries and 20% chargers.
Through the pilot project, we collected waste directly from the repairers themselves. This was sometimes problematic – some areas of the country are difficult to access, especially after heavy rain, and we occasionally received a hostile reception from repairers suspicious about the initiative.
Forum for the Future presented its recommendations for future action from Vodafone in response to the study and the pilot. These include:
- exploring the potential for a materials processing facility in Kenya
- further assessment of disposal options in the country
- piloting a consumer collection programme
- assessing the feasibility of training for repairers
- developing a detailed business case for a long-term solution involving other stakeholders, both internationally and at a local level.
We plan to conduct a similar assessment of mobile phone collection, reuse, recycling and disposal in a major Indian city in 2008/09.