In what ways do cell phones affect the environment?
Does a cell phone contribute to climate change?
What can we do to decrease the environmental impact of our cell phones?
What natural resources are extracted to make a cell phone?
What are the impacts of manufacturing a cell phone and how can they be reduced?
In what ways do cell phones affect the environment?
In order to make a product like a cell phone, a series of things must take place. After the cell phone is made and used, we help determine its fate – either we toss in the trash or we recycle it. These phases are called the product’s life cycle, and every phase has potential impacts on the environment. Raw materials must be extracted from the earth, then refined before they go to factories where components and phones are made – processes that deplete natural resources, use energy and create pollution. Most environmental impacts occur during this manufacturing phase[1]. Transportation throughout the life cycle generates more negative impacts on the environment due to the burning of fossil fuels. During the phone’s use phase, we charge it with electricity that comes mostly from fossil fuels, and the wireless infrastructure also requires electricity. When we replace our phone, we decide whether it is recycled or sent to a landfill or incinerator where toxic substances can get into the soil, water and air.
A product’s life cycle [2]
Does a cell phone contribute to climate change?
Cell phones do contribute to climate change, because fossil fuels usually provide the energy used to manufacture, transport and charge them. When burned to produce power, these fuels release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere where they retain the heat of the sun instead of letting it reflect away from earth. More greenhouse gases means that the overall average temperature of the earth increases. These changes disrupt many aspects of the balance that created our planet's hospitable climate.
What can we do to decrease the environmental impact of our cell phones?
The best way we as consumers can minimize environmental impact is by getting a new cell phone only when it’s really necessary. Better yet, get a refurbished one! Using a cell phone longer and/or buying a refurbished phone reduces the amount of natural resources that must be taken from the earth, saves energy and prevents pollution.
What natural resources are extracted to make a cell phone?
Extracting and processing materials for cell phones creates environmental and health problems all over the world. The chart shows some major areas impacted by material extraction.
What are the impacts of manufacturing a cell phone and how can they be reduced?
Transforming resources we extract from the earth (e.g., crude oil, copper, gold, palladium, silicon, etc.) into a product like a cell phone requires considerable amounts of energy and water, and generates large amounts of pollution and waste. A Swiss assessment has found that 40-50% of the environmental impacts over the life of a cell phone – including its production, use and disposal –occur during the single process of manufacturing printed wiring boards and integrated circuits.
The study suggested that extending the service life of the phone from one to four years decreases the environmental impacts by about 40%. [3] And remember this: recycling the metals in a cell phone requires significantly less resources than mining the earth for more! There is enough gold in 200 cell phones to make a gold wedding ring! [4] To find out more, check out Elizabeth Grossman’s book, “High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health” or Greenpeace’s report “Cutting Edge Contamination: A Study of Environmental Pollution During the Manufacture of Electronic Products”.
[1] Mireille Faist Emmenegger, et al, “Life Cycle Assessment of the Mobile Communication System UMTS: Towards Eco-Efficient Systems,” International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 11, 4, (2006): 265 – 276.
[2] Philip White, Steve Belletire, and Louise St. Pierre, Okala: Learning Ecological Design, Phoenix, AZ: IDSA, February 2007, available at http://www.idsa.org/whatsnew/sections/ecosection/okala.html.
[3] Mireille Faist Emmenegger, et al, “Life Cycle Assessment of the Mobile Communication System UMTS: Towards Eco-Efficient Systems,” International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 11, 4, (2006): 265–276.
[4] Assuming an average gold content of 25 mg per phone (70 g phone without batteries) - Source: Christian Hagelüken, Personal communication, Umicore Precious Metal Refining, Hoboken, Belgium, August 1, 2007. - 200 phones can produce enough gold for a 5 g wedding ring made of pure gold.