Reduce, reuse, recycle cellphones





Social networks are buzzing about a product that does not yet exist. So far the product, called “Phonebloks,” is just a concept. But according to its promoters’ website, 979,000 people have indicated “support” for the idea, and 518,000 have signed on as “followers” of Phonebloks on social media.

The main Phonebloks You- Tube video has 21 million views. Phonebloks would be a cell phone with removable components. Lego-like blocks would attach to a base, making it possible to replace or upgrade one feature at a time.

For example, if someone wants a better camera on their phone, they would snap out and trade in just the camera block from its housing on their phone and then they would buy and attach a new camera module in its place.

Instead of regularly buying new phones—or getting them “free,” which means paying for a new phone as part of the cost of a service plan—organizers imagine a worldwide exchange of standard, tradable, reusable components.

They are hoping grassroots expression of market demand will induce a major manufacturer to produce the product they desire.

The idealistic organizers behind the concept received a big boost recently when another Internet icon, a woman with at least twice the online star power of the Phonebloks crowd, began promoting their idea.

Annie Leonard, whose animated lectures about waste—principally “The Story of Stuff”—have been viewed on YouTube by more than 45-million people, blogged a clever essay with some memorable phrases.

Today’s phones, she writes, are “designed for the dump,” and while “mobile phones may be indispensable, they are meant to be disposable,” with the average phone being used for only 18 months. She notes “almost 90 percent of used phones go to the dump instead of being recycled.”

Because of their batteries and electronic components, cellphones are banned from landfills in California, but here in Ventura County, many options exist for reuse and recycling.

Not only are used phones sold on sites like eBay, Craigslist and Gazelle.com, but many local stores buy and sell used phones. A TronicsXchange kiosk in Ventura’s Pacific View Mall specializes in used phones, and The Oaks mall has an EcoATM, a reverse vending machine that accepts phones, analyzes them for value, and pays cash. Both require ID to deter stolen property, and both wipe personal information from phones they receive.

Some locally available reuse programs are linked to charities and thrift shops, including Goodwill and stores associated with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, such as the Battered Women Thrift Store in Ventura.

Relatively new phones can usually be traded in by customers who get a newer phone, but in many cases, people want to hang onto their old phones, keeping it as a backup in case they lose or break their new one. Eventually, that backup phone is too outdated and it is no longer eligible for any trade-in program.

Many options exist for recycling old phones that are no longer suitable for reuse. Within Ventura County, each city and the county offer household hazardous waste collection events and drop-off centers willing to accept cellphones. These are convenient alternatives and they do not charge program participants; however, because they usually also accept hazardous waste, they are expensive for the public sector to staff and manage.

Using private sector alternatives for phone recycling reduces public costs and may be free and convenient for recyclers.

For example, call2recycle.org provides free boxes with free mail-back labels for cellphones and rechargeable batteries.

Also, many local businesses selling rechargeable batteries are mandated by state law to accept old rechargeable batteries for recycling; they usually also accept cellphones free of charge.

To find one of these businesses, go to www.rbrc.com or call (800) 8-BATTERY.

The Phonebloks concept may someday become a real product. In the meantime, you can keep your eye on the environment by selling, donating, or recycling old cellphones.

David Goldstein is with the Ventura County Public Works Agency.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *