Necessity of recycling cell phones

In the past decades mobile phones has become one of the leading sources of communications. We should recycle them when they are kept unused. The massive number of mobile phones and various mobile devices now in circulation are presenting a growing conce
to the environment. Wireless phones generally contain 40% plastics, 40% metal and 20% ceramics. Among the metals there are some toxic metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium and others. All these elements harm the atmosphere by releasing the toxics in them. There are many reasons and opportunities to recycle a mobile phone and only a few people do it. We can help the atmosphere and people who are atrocious in having a mobile phone of their own.

The life cycle of a mobile phone is: it’s manufactured by using the raw materials, sold, then used by an owner and then thrown away. The problem lies in throwing the mobile phones away. Some users through them in waste box and some give it for recycling. Only 3% of the entire world population gives them for recycling. The thrown away mobile phones end up in ignition and landfills. The one given for recycling by the owners are reused or refurbished. From this the useful components and raw materials are recovered. The recovered raw materials reduce the need for new mines to manufacture new mobile phones.

The refurbished raw materials are given to charity or sold. The discarded mobile phones account for 65,000 tons of toxic material every year. The electronic devices like the mobile phones leach out many hazardous substances in the soil which in turn pollute the underground water. They not only pollute the soil and water but also pollute the air when burned in incinerators. So people are advised to hand over the unused mobile phones to the recyclers, such that they discard them in a healthy method.

Many of the toxic substances like – arsenic, cadmium, poly vinyl chloride, lead, nickel, beryllium and zinc belong to the class of persistent toxins which stay behind the environment and do not break. The metals like lead and cadmium, likely to accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals, build up in the food chain, which is dangerous when released in small amount. Most of the toxic elements lie in the printed board and the liquid-crystal- display. They show their impact on the health of humans. They cause cancer and affect small children health.

The impact of lead is more when compared to other elements. Lead is considered as a problematic material throughout the world. The lead is used in soldering the components in the circuit board. This creates cancer, abnormalities by affecting the central nervous system, immune system and kidneys too. Therefore recycling them in a proper way is necessary to prevent its ill-effects.