South Korean Updates: Cell phone recycling rate to be less than 40%, freezing environment and resource (16 Jan 2013)

Cell phone recycling rate to be less than 40%, freezing environment and resource

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2013.01.16

Much concern is being voiced about environmental pollution and leakage of valuable resources from inappropriate disposal, due to less than 40 percent of discarded cell phones recycling rate.

The Ministry of Environment (MOE, Minister Yoo Young-sook) reported that regardless of slight increase (about 36 tons) in recycling rate compare to 2012 (655 tons), the number is yet 20 percent of the cell phone sales.

MOE has been putting consistent effort in increasing the recycling rate including conducting campaign with cell phone manufacturers and dealers.

On the strength of the efforts, more than six million discarded cell phones are being recycled every year, creating over 18 million won of economic value per year.

Nevertheless, only 40 percent of the discarded cell phones are being recycled, assuming that 18 million cell phones are discarded per year among the 25 million phone sales. And environmental pollution and leakage of resources due to improper disposal is very much in concern.

In particular, a research showed that over 8.17 million phones (45 percent of the discarded phones) sat in drawers unused and about 2.4 million phones flowed out of the country in 2010.

Experts advised that joint efforts should be made among MOE, the manufacturers and dealers to raise recyclability of discarded cell phones.

MOE emphasized that discarded cell phones could worth 112 billion won containing iron and rare metals but inappropriate disposal may lead to environmental pollution and resource waste.

Source: 

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