Heavy metals and your mobile

Yet, in a very short space of time these gadgets have shrunk from the size of a large house brick with a television aerial sticking out the top, to a tiny thing that is barely big enough to reach your mouth when you hold it to your ear.

In addition, mobile phones have transformed from "any colour as long as it's black" to any colour you wish, with a choice of hundreds of different ring tones all designed to drive the rest of the world to distraction.

The phones have also moved beyond a tool for spoken communication into the realm of mini entertainment centres containing games, video messaging, internet connections and a plethora of other useful gizmos.

As part of the transformation they have also become must-have items, adored by teenagers and allowing business people to be contacted at any time of day or night, even if they are away from the office.

The mobile phone revolution has its environmental costs however; there is still much concern about the health effects of the electromagnetic signals generated by both the phones and the masts used to relay the signals.

Each phone contains a number of hazardous and yet valuable materials, including gold, platinum, silver, copper and cadmium, a highly toxic metal that can pollute 600,000 gallons of water from the amount used in a phone.

A phone lasts on average only 18 months, and last year over 15 million phones were discarded.

Many of these ended up in landfill sites, thrown away with the general rubbish.

In the landfill site, a mobile phone has the potential to cause pollution as the heavy metals inside the phone are released as it decomposes.

Now that the waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations are in force, the large networks and independent mobile phone retailers are required to offer a take-back scheme where the consumer can hand in an old phone that no longer works.

To be fair, most have been geared up for this for years, as mobile phones have residual value even if obsolete and many charities have recognised this and set up their own collection systems as a fund-raising opportunity.

Some phones are refurbished and sent out to foreign countries for re-use.

Most will be broken up and the parts separated for recycling.

All the metals can be recovered and used again, while the plastic casing will be ground up and recycled either into traffic cones or incinerated to generate energy.

Unfortunately, while obsolescence seems to be a problem that won't go away, at least the industry seems geared up for recycling as many phones as possible.

It's up to us to make sure that we use these facilities!

If you would like more information about mobile phone recycling, visit the Fonebak website at www.fonebak.com