A Phone’s Life

Written by Steve Brooks and Marly Marl

We have all seen those reviews on recycling web sites saying “I sold my old phone and got back more than I expected”. That’s great, however do you actually know what happens to your mobile phone?

Well, with emc’s Life Style-Thinking, and as part or our deep-routed commitment to ensuring a sustainable environmental recycling strategy, we consider it to be fundamental that we map the journey of our phones and actually see how the regeneration of used mobile phones are helping emerging markets, and the changes that are being made.

Case Study:

Company buys mobile phone.

Company uses mobile phone for a number of years.

The mobile phone is used by a number of various users.

Company then keeps the mobile phone as a spare for years.

Company decides mobile phone is obsolete.

The mobile phone is recycled with emc.

EMC data wipe the mobile phone and restore to factory settings.

New life begins for the old mobile phone.

emc supply various companies and charities with mobile phones one of which is MCAI

MCAI specialises in strengthening emergency healthcare systems. They ensure that emergency care can be followed through from village through to hospital.

Giving birth in The Gambia is a risky business because the systems we rely on in the UK are not in place.  Sadly, 1 in every 49 women and girls will die during pregnancy and childbirth. Furthermore, for every death, another 30 women and girls are left seriously disabled or seriously injured.

“emc have played a vital role in our work with Traditional Birth Attendants by providing MCAI with mobile phones, so that they can “Call the Midwife”! These phones are  crucial to the life saving work we do because Traditional Birth Attendants are trained to phone for our ambulance service, which comes with a midwife on board, when women are in need of immediate critical medical assistance from a nearby health facility.” Eliza Norman Fundraising Manager.

“In every country in the world, there can be completely unpredictable life-threatening hazards in childbirth.  A woman could need an emergency caesarean section or perhaps a blood transfusion and, in The Gambia, unless a traditional birth attendant phones for our ambulance service she and her baby may not survive. We are so grateful to emc for providing the mobile phones that give women in The Gambia a chance of surviving child birth and their babies a chance of life”….. Dr Barbara Phillips Project Director.

Understanding the importance of recycling and the potential wealth in your old handsets is essential, not just the financial wealth but its ability to give life and help others is still something that needs promoting. According to a recent BBC News article it is estimated that there are 80 million mobile phone handsets in the UK. If 10% of these handsets went to worthwhile projects like MCAI just think how many lives can be saved. Knowing these facts why would you not give your mobile a new life with emc?

Picture reference http://thejourneytorediscovery.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/africas-mobile-phone-industry-booming.html

We’ve all been there, you’re about to make an important phonecall on your mobile, then you reach into your coat pocket or handbag and can’t find the darn thing. Similar scenario when you realise the last bar of battery’s flashing at you, and you’re out in the middle of nowhere with no means of charging it. Yes, it’s fair to say we have come to rely heavily on our mobile devices in this day and age but to what extent exactly? For some of us the fear of being out of contact with their mobile is on such a grand scale it can actually result in physical symptoms. Dizziness, sweating and even panic attacks are some of the issues being described by people experiencing this phenomenon and no I’m not talking about an aversion to little pot men wearing red pointy hats, this is No-Mobile-Phobia.

Researchers suggest a large proportion of the people suffering from this latest phobia are affected due to their dependence on mobiles for social activities and ultimately arises from the inherent human need for connection with others. According to a recent survey, 66 percent of the people asked were afraid of losing or being without their phone for any period of time, a significant increase from when the survey was last conducted four years ago and it is expected that these figures will continue to rise in the future.

Perhaps you’re aware of someone or are yourself, one of the growing number of people affected by Nomophobia? We would love to hear from you and how this has impacted on your day to day life.   Personally, I enjoy the peace of being unreachable every once in a while so I’m safe when it comes to this phobia but any tips on how I can master my fear of clowns would be greatly appreciated…

The revolutionary batteries called NoPoPo (Non Pollution Power), are allegedly rechargeable, completely recyclable, and run on water, apple juice, beer or any other water based liquid that you can think of. They are currently available in AA size only, but even so, would fit many of the adapters produced for charging mobile telephones.

The NoPoPo also appear to work with incredible simplicity, once you have finished deliberating on which liquid to use anyway.  Simply insert the liquid of choice via a pipette into the hole at the bottom of the battery, or completely submerge the battery for a few minutes and dry it off with a paper towel and the NoPoPo is ready to be inserted into your device for a totally eco friendly experience.

Mobile Phone Recovery

Could Britain be missing a trick and wasting a great opportunity to extract valuable metals from old electrical and electronic goods which are recycled abroad.

The Commons science committee has called on the government to take a lead in developing British resources for strategically important metals, which are vital to advanced manufacturing and low-carbon energy technologies. This could involve the launch of new mining operations in the UK and more specialized recycling centers.

Although the world is unlikely to run out of such materials – which include the “rare earth” elements as well as the platinum group and other scarce metals – within the next few decades, UK users could face shortages and prohibitively high prices, because some metals have monopoly or limited number of suppliers.

Its thought that some of the world’s rarest elements are proving vital function in electronics – and large countries of manufacture such as china has recently applied export quotas.

The popularity of smart phones, iphones, tablets and flat screen TVs has triggered a 150 per cent jump in the price of a little-known metal call Iridium which is used in the manufacture of backlit screens. The demand for iridium – one of the earth’s rarest metals, has more than quadrupled in the last year and although Britain is good at recycling bulk metals such as iron and aluminum, it is less successful at extracting small amounts of rare and precious metals from scrap.

The sudden rush of buying the latest range of mobile phones and ipads has sent the price of iridium soaring, which has triggered a boom for the few lucky suppliers. However, iridium’s golden age may be just beginning as the drive for environmentally friendly lighting in homes, streets and cars could spur a rush for iridium.

According to Paul Walker, chief executive of GFMS, the metals consultancy “We’re on the cusp of an explosion in growth of LED applications. The question comes down to what technology do you use to grow the LED crystals and that all depends on the price”.

There is significant potential for the UK to improve its efficiency of metal use, reuse and materials recovery and its vital that the UK explores these options without delay. Life cycle thinking is really the way forward if we are to protect our valuable world resources. Manufacturers are being encouraged to embrace a “cradle-to-cradle” approach, in which a little forward recovery thinking could produce technology which is also designed for disassembly at the end of their life resulting in greater recovery and reuse of our valuable resources.

Thank you

Its incredible how working together can have such far reaching effects and how recycling really can make a difference in so many different ways. Thank you your help and support for our canine mobile phone recycling campaign has delivered fantastic results which will help provide the stepping stones towards transforming someones life forever.

EMC selected Canine Partners as one of our 2011 charities partners after learning about the amazing work they do to rebuild peoples lives in some very challenging situations, and this week after going “BARKING MAD” with all sorts of mobile phone recycling events, we were very pleased to donate £2875.00 towards a new puppy and its first stage of training.

What price do you put on independence? With 1.2 million men, women and children in the UK dependant on a wheelchair, the charity has aims to train dogs to meet the needs of people with even the most complex disabilities including injured members of HM Armed forces.

These very special animals will become life-changing dogs and we think that makes them worthy of our help.

Thanks again for your support

Learn More click here > Canine Partners

EMC are pleased to congratulate, The GreenTowers P7 Project as a pioneering initiative towards excellence in energy efficiency & successful deployment of green energy technologies. This ground-breaking initiative was introduced in 2009, in India, with the endeavour of covering over 2000 telecom tower sites located in the rural areas, that have limited or no grid power. The project aims towards adopting cleaner technologies for power generation at telecom tower sites, to sustain and operate the telecom infrastructure in rural or tough terrain regions. These areas typically see limited or no grid power, and are thus reliant on diesel generators as its primary source of power. The initiative not only provides compelling fossil fuel savings, but also helps mitigating green house gas emissions.

Judges’ comments:
A great effort, one of the largest green power initiatives for mobile towers anywhere, helping prove the viability of green energy technologies on a large commercial scale.

The UN’s ITU (international Telecoms Union) has decided to try and rally governments ahead of increasing fears regarding broadbands escalating global demand.  As the latest phase of smartphones and tablets sweep around the world, its probably no wonder that congestion is becoming an increasing concern for providers. Smartphones already consume five times more data capacity than ordinary mobile phones and given that their numbers are set to soar from 500 million today to nearly 2 billion by 2015, broadband growth is vital not just for developing countries but for the world’s most advanced nations too.

High-usage cities, such as New York and London, are becoming increasingly frustrated by problems of network unavailability and the recent announcement by the ITU (International Telecoms Union) that mobile broadband subscriptions are expected to reach 1 billion in 2011, have raised concerns that service providers will need to baluster their global broadband plans if they are to support the growing number of data-intensive applications.

With 90 per cent of the world now covered by a mobile signal, it is clear that mobile is a key to bridging the digital divide. It is perhaps not that surprising then, with 73 per cent of the total mobile cellular subscriptions coming from the developed world that network congestion would face some challenges with regard to supply and an international broadband commitment will be crucial to preventing any disruption.

A Broadband Commission for Digital Development has been set up to highlight the need for governments worldwide to promote broadband as a key development tool and help increase broadband network roll-out more proactively. The Commission’s report, delivered to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last September, recommended that world leaders focus on building a “virtuous broadband development dynamic,” urging Governments not to limit market entry nor tax broadband and related services too heavily, and to ensure ample availability of spectrum to support mobile broadband growth.

If the UN can really encourage governments to provide incentives for investment into the infrastructure it may deliver the building blocks for greater digital capacity. If they stave off this situation before it really becomes and issue then it has to be good news for us all as it could provide the answers for a more effective gateway to the latest generation of technologies worldwide.

With smartphones and digital mobile phone technology set to rocket, the prospect for mobile data and reuse and recycling of surplus mobile phones should be a happy one.

Could your mobile phone be your wallet of the future?

Near-field communication (NFC) could be set to be the breakthrough technology of 2011. Some analysts predict that the use of this short distance frequency will be used to make everyday purchases.

The frequency is already in use in Tokyo, as users purchase everyday items like, cups of coffee and train tickets with their mobile phone. NFC allows for a wide variety of data transfers over a short distance, and is currently most frequently used to take mobile payments.

Manufacturers are now looking on how to capitalise on the ” tap to pay ” technology already in use by Google and Nokia, and have rumored to be a feature on Apple’s next incarnation of the iPhone. Will it mean that we need to recycle our old phones? May be not, as the new technology may just mean a change of SIM card. But with all the excitement surrounding the new Smartphone’s Androids and tablets, which everyway you look at it, “tap to pay” technology is on its way and will not only change the way we communicate but how we spend our money.

Early adopter have realised that there is a lot of value in their old technology, and that they will benefit from a great deal of recyclable capabilities.

Vodafone has become the fourth operator to announce the iPad 2 after T-Mobile, Orange and Three.

A page put up today on the company’s website said the device would be available in the “coming weeks” – which is expected to be from March 25 when the gadget goes on sale in the UK.

Unlike the other operators which all began selling the first version of the iPad in the run up to Christmas last year, this is the first Apple tablet Vodafone will stock.

The excitement surrounding the new Apple ipad 2 has sent the global second -hand market in to a spin. Recycled electronics are set to boom as aficionados gear up for the launch of the new Apple ipad 2, by selling off their first generation tablets.

Early adopter have realised that there is a lot of value in their old technology, and that they have a great deal of recyclable capabilities.

Vodafone has become the fourth operator to announce the iPad 2 after T-Mobile, Orange and Three.

A page put up today on the company’s website said the device would be available in the “coming weeks” – which is expected to be from March 25 when the gadget goes on sale in the UK.

The iPad 2 will sport Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor which the manufacturer says will increase performance, along with two cameras – a front facing VGA camera and a rear facing camera that is able to capture 720 p HD video.

Despite the new design the Apple iPad 2 will keep the same 9.7 inch LED- backlit LCD screen as it’s predecessor.

It will also keep the same battery which Apple says provides up to 10 hours of usage.

ipad 2