The Toll of a Used Machine

Just how bad is the e-waste problem? Well, let’s start with cell phones. “An astounding 100 million cell phones will be taken out of service in the U.S. this year, says Yankee Group Inc.,” the Wall Street Journal reported last week. Last year, 277 million new cell phones were sold to replace older ones worldwide, according to Lehman Brothers. That number is projected to soar more than 50% this year to 420 million.

And wireless subscribers will continue to grow -- to more than 1.75 billion worldwide by 2007, says Yankee Group.

Less than 1% of phones have been recovered since 1999, according to a report released last year by INFORM, an independent research group. That leaves about 50,000 tons of phones a year to be discarded.

This is no small matter. According to INFORM, cell phones

are an especially problematic component of the waste stream because they contain a large number of hazardous substances, which can pollute the air when burned in incinerators and leach into soil and drinking water when buried in landfills. Many of these toxic substances — including antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc — belong to a class of chemicals known as persistent toxins, which linger in the environment for long periods without breaking down. Some of them — including the metals lead and cadmium — also tend to accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals, building up in the food chain to dangerous levels even when released in very small quantities. These persistent, bioaccumulative toxins, or PBTS, have been associated with cancer and a range of reproductive, neurological, and developmental disorders. They pose a particular threat to children, whose developing systems are especially vulnerable to toxic assault. Most of the persistent toxins and PBTs contained in cell phones are in the printed wiring board and liquid-crystal display. (Emphasis added.)

Who’s responsible for all this waste? In Europe, Canada, and elsewhere, the mantra is extended producer responsibility -- that is, the manufacturer retains responsibility, even after a product is purchased and used by the consumer. In the U.S., as always, it’s every consumer for herself. For Americans, trying to unload a used cell phone -- or any other electronic gizmo, for that matter -- is a daunting and usually fruitless experience. A number of charitable collection services exist, but they’re few and far between.

What will it take to turn the tide? How about 100 million cell phone customers demanding that their carriers -- Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon, and all the rest -- take back and properly dispose of them, by refurbishing them and putting them back into service, or by disassembling and recycling the components of phones past their prime.

It won’t take 100 million -- or even 1 million -- demanding consumers. Even a few thousand consumers and businesses requiring takeback by phone companies as a condition of doing business will be enough to tip the scales.