Over 5 billion phones are thrown away each year. There are several reasons for this occurrence. The major reason is how people forget about the old phones they have replaced long before with newer and better models. Those forgotten phones could be gathering dust in junk drawers. Once they are discovered, the quickest and easiest way to take care of them would be to throw them in the trash. This wouldn’t be the best way to handle getting rid of old phones, as it is contributing to the 78% of discarded phones that are not properly collected and recycled. Phones are made of materials that are not safe for being in landfills or improper recycling sites. If not handled properly, phones can release highly toxic chemicals to the environment.
When phones are tossed in the trash, they end up in landfills and contaminate them. Most phone batteries are lithium-ion batteries, which can cause fires when crushed. This happens because of a chain reaction that happens to the battery called thermal runway. When there is physical damage to the battery, it causes a short circuit inside it. The short circuit then creates heat that vaporizes the liquid electrolytes, that reacts chemically, generating more heat, and starting a cycle of this until the buildup of gas and pressure bursts the battery casing. After that, the escaping gases ignite in seconds and potentially cause an uncontrollable fire. Toxic heavy metals from the battery can also leak into the groundwater and pollute it.
Phones are also made of over 60 different chemicals. Toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium leak into the surrounding soil and groundwater, ultimately directly contaminating ecosystems near them. Landfills are not designed to break down electronic waste, so having a phone in a landfill for years can cause serious environmental damage.
Phones are not a simple device that people can just throw out as if it is regular trash. Electronic waste, which includes phones, is often considered to be up to 70% of toxic waste in landfills. Because of toxic chemicals, it can pose a risk that is thousands of times more dangerous to the environment than waste from common plastics.
Instead of being the majority of people who store their old phones somewhere they cannot find it, it is important to learn how to properly dispose of them in order to lessen the phone waste problem. If the old phone is still usable, it can be donated to non-profits or shelters. Another way is to go to major electronic retailers such as Best Buy and Staples, because they typically accept old phones for free recycling too. Before irresponsibly sending off any phone or electronic device to the trash, it is important to remember how great the environmental cost is for not sending it to the proper place for recycling.
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