Drawing by Cai Huawei

The number of mobile phone users in China has now reached 1.146 billion. Last year, 425 million new mobile phones were sold, while nearly 400 million mobile phones were eliminated. Due to the lack of recycling and harmless measures, most of these old mobile phones are idle at home or simply dismantled, causing environmental hazards.

"When you buy a new mobile phone, it is already outdated." Xiao Chen, who works in Futian District, Shenzhen, sighed. With the continuous acceleration of mobile phone updates, how to deal with old mobile phones has become a major problem.

Last year, 425 million mobile phones were sold in China, and about 400 million mobile phones were eliminated

Xiao Chen's confusion is not an isolated case. According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the number of mobile phone users in China has now reached 1.146 billion. In 2014, China's mobile phone shipments were 425 million, while the number of new users was only 56.98 million. This set of disparity data shows that China produces a large number of idle mobile phones every year.

I want to buy a new mobile phone, but what should I do with my old one? Aunt Zhang in Shenzhen is fiddling with her almost brand new Apple mobile phone and studying how to download stock trading software. Aunt Zhang's daughter is a loyal "Apple fan". She will be the first to try out new products every year. The old mobile phones she replaces are either idle or given to her family.

Unlike Ms. Liu, Mr. Wang in Shenzhen chooses to transfer his old mobile phone. Relying on the unique advantages of Huaqiangbei, Mr. Wang can always buy a new phone as soon as it is released. But he never keeps his old mobile phone with him, but sells it immediately. "First, the mobile phones I sell are also relatively new models, and the market demand is huge. Second, it is a waste to keep old mobile phones at home, and selling them can make my funds flow."

"90% of the new mobile phones added in China each year are trade-ins." Sun Wenping, president of the Shenzhen Mobile Phone Industry Association, said. This also means that while 425 million mobile phones were sold in 2014, nearly 400 million mobile phones were eliminated. There are reasons for technological progress, such as the transition from 2G to 4G, many people use smart phones. "Some people change their phones because they are damaged or not fashionable enough."

If handled properly, discarded mobile phones are a huge "gold mine"

The large-scale and rapid replacement of mobile phones not only gives people more "collections", but also significantly increases the amount of electronic waste.

Sun Wenping introduced that at present, most recycled mobile phones are sorted, refurbished and flow into the second-hand market and resold; mobile phones that cannot be used directly are simply disassembled, some parts are reused, and the rest are discarded as garbage; completely unusable ones are directly incinerated as garbage.

Xiao Zhang, who is engaged in mobile phone transactions in Huaqiangbei, said that most of the mobile phones here are used to refurbish the whole machine and then sell it, or reuse the parts. "As for where the useless parts go, it is unknown."

The potential threat of discarded mobile phones to the environment has caused people's concerns.

Some experts pointed out that there are at least 20 substances that may be harmful to the environment in a discarded mobile phone. Mobile phones are mainly composed of plastic shells, lithium batteries, circuit boards, displays and other parts. These parts contain toxic and harmful substances such as lead, chromium, and mercury. If they are improperly disposed of or thrown away at will, they will seriously pollute the soil and groundwater, posing a huge threat to human health. "A used mobile phone battery can pollute 60,000 liters of water, which can meet the drinking water needs of a person in his lifetime." However, if handled properly, discarded mobile phones are also a huge "gold mountain". It is understood that the internal parts of mobile phones contain a variety of valuable materials, including 0.01% gold, 20%-25% copper, and 40%-50% renewable plastics. After being recycled, discarded mobile phones will be disassembled in the factory, among which general parts will be crushed. The motherboard is used to extract rare and precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. "Waste is a resource that is placed in the wrong place." Sun Wenping said that theoretically, 150 grams of gold, 3 kilograms of silver and 100 kilograms of copper can be extracted from 1 ton of discarded mobile phones. Far higher than the refining ratio of ore, whether from the perspective of economic benefits, comprehensive utilization of resources or environmental protection, the efficient recycling and utilization of used mobile phones are of great significance. "It is not an exaggeration to call it an "urban mine." Mobile phone recycling still needs government guidance and policy support "In fact, the biggest problem in mobile phone recycling at present still comes from users." Sun Wenping believes that mobile phones are small in size and do not take up space like large appliances such as refrigerators and TVs, which must be handled. Many people keep unused mobile phones at home and throw them away or sell them as scrap when moving, which greatly increases the possibility of polluting the environment. "Government departments should strengthen guidance in this regard." Shenzhen Taolu Information Technology Co., Ltd. is an innovative enterprise specializing in the trading of used mobile phones. The company's chairman Lu Haibin said that many people think that only mobile phones that can be turned on and used can be recycled. This is a misunderstanding. "Even unusable mobile phones have value. As long as the circuit board exists, they are all "treasures." In 2013, Taolu Technology cooperated with Longgang District, Shenzhen, and set up public welfare environmental protection recycling service points for used mobile phones in 8 communities. Residents can exchange their old mobile phones for souvenirs at the service point. At the same time, Taolu will provide a 1.5 yuan public welfare scholarship for each mobile phone recycled.

"The activity has a very good effect." Li Bo, director of the Fenghuang Community Service Center in Buji Street, Longgang District, said that taking out old mobile phones can not only support environmental protection but also do public welfare. Residents are very enthusiastic about participating, "Some people even bring four or five mobile phones at a time."

Another concern of users about mobile phone recycling is the risk of information leakage. Ms. Xia, a citizen, believes that nowadays everyone uses smart phones, and important information such as bank cards and ID cards have been bound to mobile phones. If they are not cleaned up, the consequences of leakage will be serious. "Anyway, it won't make much money, so it's better to keep it at home."

"This is related to the lack of supervision on mobile phone recycling." Some experts pointed out that China's old mobile phone recycling system is not perfect. The "Regulations on the Recycling and Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products" implemented in 2011 include refrigerators, televisions, etc., but mobile phones are not included.

The costs of dismantling old mobile phones, refining precious metals, and garbage disposal are not low, and currently there is no national subsidy, which also makes it difficult for formally operated companies.

"Fortunately, the country has taken it seriously." Sun Wenping said. According to reports, in 2014, the Environmental Protection Department of the National Development and Reform Commission publicly solicited opinions from the public on the "Key Points for Adjustment of the Catalog of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Treatment (Draft for Comments)", and included mobile phones as a key project. This indicates that mobile phone recycling will end the "black household" status and open the door to encourage formal companies to carry out mobile phone recycling.

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