Mobile phones have transformed the lives of many people. As many as nine out of 10 adults own a mobile phone. These gadgets have made it easier to do business, transfer money, play at the Best mobile casino, have educational programmes readily available and a scope more .
Even though the mobile industry has convinced many lives and altered consumer norms, there are a few negative aspects within the mobile lifecycle that needs to be paid attention to by their manufacturers.
The Hazards of Producing a Mobile Phone
A mobile phone’ journey unwittingly starts at its manufacture. The average smartphone is crafted from various metals and metalloids, these play a role to every essential component of a device. To source these precious metals and produce one smartphone, more than 30kg of ore has to be mined. Using This means that a whole lot of water and cyanide is needed to produce a single smartphone.
As many as 1.4 billion smartphones were produced around the world in 22018. This means that in this year as much as 34 billion kg of ore had been mined, while using billions of litres in water and over 20 million kg of cyanide, to manufacture these devices.
The Enigma of Affordability
As soon as new mobile devices have been manufactured and on the market, the question of affordability comes to play. Premium devices from renowned mobile phone proprietors can cost as much as $1,000 or more. With the implementation of 5G these prices are set to rise substantially.
Even though operators in developed economies emphasize the use of 4G and 5G, third-world countries such as India as well as several regions in Africa make use of 2G and 3G networks. Moreover, these countries are now focusing on switching to 4G and 5G networks. The question of a mobile device’s affordability is placed under the radar once again.
Manufacturers will have to consider how the populace of these countries will be able to afford these devices given the fact that consumers are often scraping the bottom of the barrel to be able to afford these devices.
What are Some Potential Solutions?
Mobile companies need to pay attention to these worries and give our global environment a decent chance. They will need to look into the most compelling simplest ways to minimize the environmental impact of smartphone manufacturing as well as provide a stable and safe connection.
Trade-in Programmes
Mobile trade-in programmes are one suggestion to lessen our carbon footprint. By offering users a financial incentive for pre-owned devices, mobile operators, retailers and manufacturers safeguard the recycling of devices as well making them more affordable.
When a device is traded in, this pre-owned device may be repurposed and provided with a second life in upcoming markets. In turn, pre-owned devices can be sold at a reduced price in a rising market. This will ensure that making a perfectly fine and functional device is less expensive to buy.
Recycling
There are also methods that can be taken for devices that are not fit for repurpose through recycling.
Recently, iPhone manufacturer, Apple has created a disassembly robot, which was design to take back the precious materials stored in discarded iPhones. This particular robot can dismantle up to 200 iPhones within an hour. By fleshing out and arranging these components, Apple can reinstate materials that conventional recyclers are unable to.
Surprisingly, the Olympic Committee has gone as far as accepting donations of old devices to create medals made completely from recycled materials. With donations of over 6 million devices, the Olympic Committee had been able to extract over 30kg of gold in addition to 3.5 tonnes of silver and 2.2 tonnes of bronze from discarded devices.
Increasing Lifespan
Every device that can be “reborn ” lessens the amount of manufacturing, reduces harm to the environment , and can be gifted to someone who otherwise would not be able to afford it.
It has been proven that expanding the lifespan of smartphones by just a single year can lessen so much carbon emissions as it were equivalent in taking two million cars off of our roads every year.
In the span of a decade, HYLA Mobile has returned over $7 billion to US consumers by using mobile device trade-ins. In the same timeframe they have refurbished as many as 57.9 million devices, converted 26 million pounds of e-waste, in addition to connecting 42.7 million consumers. However, the manufacturer has said that it is at its pinnacle point when it comes to its plans to help save the environment.
Conclusion
There is a marvelous opportunity to increase the lifespan of mobile devices, while adding more value to consumers, emphasizing on digital inclusion as well as deterring the environmental effect of electronic waste. In order for this to be successful , the telecoms industry has to acknowledge these problems and mitigate some of the harms it has caused to the environment.
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