WARNING: Do not think that environmental degradation and climate change is not real, just because you cannot see it and that it is happening to someone else and not to you.
It can very well determine how many years you will live and the kind of diseases you are most likely to suffer from in your lifetime. In this blog, we will explain the effects of not recycling used and old phones and how refurbishment of phones is the best possible solution to the earth which is nearing its destruction because of the reckless attitude of its most-intelligent species.
What Happens When Old Phones Are Not Recycled?
1. E-waste Poisoning the Environment
E-waste refers to outdated electronic devices that have reached the end of their useful life and need to be discarded. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-waste in 2019, only 17% of which was recorded as being collected and recycled. When e-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air damaging the atmosphere. The damage to the atmosphere is one of the gravest environmental impacts of e-waste.
2. Carbon Emissions – Invisible Effects of Manufacturing
Manufacturing is undoubtedly the most polluting and energy-consuming stage of a phone’s entire life cycle with nearly 80% of the brand new phone’s total carbon footprint comes from manufacturing. Manufacturing new smartphones is a rigorous energy consumption process, involving the extraction of raw materials, production, and transportation which releases enormous greenhouse gases.
The refurbishment process consumes significantly less energy compared to manufacturing new devices. Hence, by buying refurbished phones, you support energy conservation and reduce the hazardous carbon emissions associated with the entire production cycle.
3. Climate Change
The production of electronic goods has immense effect on climate change. Each and every phone that is produced has a carbon footprint and further contributes to human-created global warming. Improper e-waste disposal leads to numerous environmentally damaging consequences, that is, air pollution, water and soil contamination, and habitat devastation. The inappropriate disposal and management of e-waste release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
You cannot stand with folded arms when you see your house burning down. Then, why do you so when the house of the mankind is being set ablaze?
How Can Refurbishment of Phones Come to the Rescue?
1. Repurposing Old And Used Phones
Refurbishing units of phones follow environmentally-sustainable practices, including repurposing, repairing, and upgrading old and used phones. By recycling existing phones, they reduce the need for manufacturing new phones to a large extent.
Instead of digging the land in search of new resources, refurbished mobile phone production seeks to recycle and reuse existing parts of the phone, while altering and repairing the all the possible faults and giving the phone an altogether new appearance. The components of the old devices are extracted and designed in a way so that they can be repurposed the in new ones, expanding their applicability.
This significantly reduces the amount of waste that is dumped in the landfill sites and conserves the rigorous extraction of minerals and metals in the process.
To know how to recycle your old phone, click here.
2. Water Conservation
We all know that keeping our phones away from the touch of water is one of the ways to save the phone from death or illness. But, water is an element, a significant amount of which, is required to make a smartphone. The production of microchips in itself is an intensive water consuming process.
It is estimated that refurbished or used phones require 85.2% less water in comparison to a new smartphone saving 76,000 litres. That’s enough daily drinking water to last a human being for 65 years, if the intake is 3.2 litres per day.
Can you imagine?
Save water for your child. Don’t encourage its wastage on a phone. A brand new smartphone has a great substitute – a recycled and refurbished one, but, is there a substitute for water?
3. Conserve Energy
The extracting, refining, and processing of raw materials for manufacturing a phone eat up a substantial quantity of energy which is often derived from fossil fuels that give a push greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Recycling old and second-hand phones offers a more energy-efficient solution.
Since the components of the used phones can be put to use after refurbishment, recycling eliminates the need for extracting and refining raw materials from scratch as a result of which natural resources are conserved.
Lowers The Height of Landfills:
This is where the germ for respiratory diseases can be found!
Old and used phones are often dumped in incinerators and landfills. By recycling them, the amount of e-waste that piles up at these places are minimised. Two-thirds of waste in landfills is biodegradable and capable of breaking down and returning to its natural elements.
As this waste breaks down and decomposes, it produces hazardous greenhouse gasses, such as methane, carbon monoxide, etc. that heavily contributes to global warming. Since landfill heaps pollute the air, water and soil in our local environment.
Saves The Planet:
The ultimate goal is to save the place that supports life. Each and every process related to the production of a new smartphone delights you, at the cost of the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil that is the storehouse of nutrients.
How Can XtraCover Help?
Sustainability is not a mere intention. It’s the Mission.
XtraCover ensures that used mobile phones that would typically end up as e-waste are refurbished, tested, and certified for resale. By promoting the reuse of electronics, they contribute to a more circular economy, where devices are continuously reused, recycled, and regenerated—helping to reduce e-waste and drive sustainability in the tech sector.
