Why Recycle Old Mobile Phones?

Why recycle; why bother to use things again? Because if we don’t, then simply, this planet might not have long to go. And we all have to play our part in mobile recycling. And what’s more, you even get paid for helping, whether you are a consumer, or company. And why not start with zonzoo, the brand owned by zonzoo group plc.

Well, we would love to completely save the planet and nurture the environment back to full health, but for that to happen, we need everyone to help. It’s not really that difficult to do, it just takes a concerted effort by all. Take up our offer and recycle your mobile phones with us. If you are a company, let us start a phone recycling scheme for you.

We believe REUSE is a key aspect of RECYCLING; so we do our best to promote this concept by making our programme very attractive for you to use.

We process your redundant phones in our operation hubs across Europe. Having been a leader in this field for the past seven years, we strongly feel that we fully understand the process. We focus on mobile phone Reuse as a main factor of our mobile phone recycling operations with the applicable phones being reused in the developing countries. This often gives them access to unavailable communications that they would not have otherwise been able to afford.

What licenses and procedures are in place? Is the phone recycling process safe? The simple answer to that is yes! We pride ourselves in both our transparency and our attention to correct procedures. See some of our licenses and processes below. We have in place management systems to effectively support environmental improvement of our services, products and processes

• ISO 14001
• ISO 9001
• Investors in People
• Data Protection Act (Registration Number Z7373579)
• Waste Management Licence (Number EAWML 83458)
• European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE & RoHS Directives)
• UN Global Compact
• European Emissions Trading Scheme
• European Renewable Energy Law
• BVSE Entsorgungsfachbetrieb (Certification Number 10452)

A few questions you may be asking yourself:

How many phones are laying about?
Mobile Phones are typically used for only 18 months before being replaced. Most of them will initially be stored away in cupboards and drawers, creating a stockpile of used phones that could end up in the waste bin. In any one European country this means tens of millions of mobile phones in landfill sites. Why not be rewarded for phone recycling them rather than eventually throwing them away hurting the environment?

What is the big deal about Phone recycling?
Waste from mobile phone products is a subject of concern around the world. While this segment of the waste stream generally accounts for less than 0.1 percent of municipal waste in industrialized countries, it is growing much faster than the waste stream as a whole.

Moreover, it contains many toxic substances, including arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, and brominated flame retardants, which can be released into the air and groundwater when burned in incinerators, or disposed of in landfills, creating threats to human health and the environment. Finally, separating out the toxic materials in these products and disposing of them as hazardous waste is very costly.

What toxins and nasty things are in the phone?
Mobile phones are complicated devices that include a printed circuit board (PCB), liquid-crystal display panel (LCD), keypad, antenna, speaker, microphone and a battery. The PCB and LCD together account for 98% of the mobile phone's environmental impacts in production and recycling. These components contain persistent and bio-accumulative toxic chemicals, (PBT's), which have been associated with cancer and other reproductive, neurological and developmental disorders.

Arsenic (in chips made from gallium arsenide), antimony, beryllium, brominated flame retardants, cadmium, lead (used in the solder that joins the parts), nickel, palladium, silver, tantalum, zinc and mercury are contained in components that make up a mobile phone in one way or other. These components when discarded leak into groundwater from landfills, while toxins from incinerated mobile phones pollute the air, damage our natural resources and severely impact the human-food chain.

In addition many batteries contain cadmium or lead, which are classified by the US EPA as the two most hazardous elements as they are probable human carcinogens, are toxic to wildlife and can pass through the food chain to humans, causing lung, liver, and kidney damage, and even death at high exposure levels. Cadmium can leak into waterways from landfills and enter the atmosphere during incineration and recycling processes.

Can the phone be re-used?
Some can be re-used. When you recycle your old mobile phone, you provide an affordable first-time communications device to families and individuals in the developing world, improving local economies, quality of life and their personal safety.

Phones that cannot be put into re-use are recycled for their components, saving energy, which in turn reduces the production of Green House Gases (GHG), which is ultimately warming the planet.

Phone recycling also fulfils all pending and current legislation that governs the cycle of electrical waste in the environment.

These include the WEEE directive (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and national waste management legislation.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR") represents the way companies achieve enhanced ethical standards and a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives addressing the concerns and expectations of their stakeholders. Corporate governance reflects the way companies address legal responsibilities and therefore provides the foundations upon which CSR and corporate sustainability practices can be built to enhance responsible business operations.

How does Recycling help my Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR") shapes the identity of organisations and is increasingly integrated into the business strategy of successful corporations. The field of responsible business practice is one of the most dynamic and challenging subjects corporate leaders are facing today and possibly one of the most important ones for shaping the future of our world.

Why is it good to help the environment?
In the past, certain people viewed anyone interested in the environment to be “tree huggers”. Well, nowadays, those “tree huggers” include politicians, major companies, film stars and the general public. The reason why we need to help the environment, is not because it is cool (well, it is), but because it is imperative. The environment needs us. It’s our turn to give back what we have taken out for centuries. The average household emits on average 12 tonnes of Co2 every year. The average driver emits two tonnes of Co2 every year. Co2 is one of the nasty gases that really is hurting our planet, so much so, it will take a global group effort to get the environment back on track. We can help though. The average consumer can help. It can be recycling your mobile phone and other electronic items, using less electricity, using green energy, driving less. The list is endless. But is it good to help? Well, in our humble view, the answer is a unanimous YES!