Have you ever wondered how your cellphone is impacting the environment?
In an article published by Reset entitled “The Social and Environmental Impact of Mobile Phones,” seven billion smartphones have been manufactured between the years 2007 and 2017. Research has shown that most of the negative environmental impacts associated with cellphones arises from the manufacturing phase. The negative environmental impacts being referred to here are the carbon emissions being released during this phase. However, the environmental impacts associated with cellphones does not begin there, they are initiated at the extraction stage. The materials found in cellphones are extracted from the earth and the repercussions from this stage has shown to have cause severe environmental degradation.
Cellphones contain varying amounts of substances which are derived from the earth. The circuit board contains metals such as lead, nickel and beryllium. Lead is mined and manufactured in a three-step process which involves ore concentration, smelting and refining. This tedious manufacturing process has a number of environmental impacts attached to it, for instance, mining tailings is found in waste water together with zinc ore and sulphides. Waters contaminated with these substances can be absorbed by soils and affect its pH. Nickel and beryllium are also mined and affects the air quality due to the mineral deposits which are exposed from the site. Furthermore, it causes physical degradation to the earth along with water pollution as sediments from the process enters into waterways and increase the metal concentration. This is potentially harmful to the aquatic organisms present. The circuit board is also made up of plastics which may contain brominated flame retardants which are toxic and persist in the environment. Plastics are made from crude oil which is extracted from the earth. Crude oil, a fossil fuel, when burnt emits high levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides. These gasses contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect which causes global warming and overall changes in the climate.
The liquid crystal display (LCD) screen is made up of plastics, glass, liquid crystalline and mercury. Mercury is another heavy metal present in cellphones. It is extracted from its ore through mining and thus produces the same environmental impacts as discussed above. Mercury however carries some more environmental impacts. When cellphones are disposed of in landfills, the mercury present in it may be released into the environment and enter into waterways. Mercury is severely dangerous to marine organisms especially fish as it bioaccumulates and causes mercury poisoning. Additionally, it biomagnifies as it moves up the food chain and if humans consume fish which contains mercury it can be potentially fatal. Phone batteries come in different forms, there are nickel-metal hydride (Ni-H), lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) or lead acid. All the materials found in these batteries are mined from the earth. However, most phones presently use lithium ion batteries which contain no toxic materials.
The heaviest environmental impact associated with cellphones as mentioned above comes from the manufacturing stage. According to an article published by the Ethical Consumer, the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacturing stage is 16kg. In the manufacturing phase the raw materials extracted is now processed to make the cellphone. This process consumes huge amounts of fossil fuels as the crude oil is mixed with natural gas and various chemicals to make plastic cases and other plastic parts of the phone. Fossil fuels is also used to supply power to the manufacturing plants which demand large amounts of energy to assemble the devices. Apart from the greenhouse gas emissions being released into the air it also brings forward another environmental issue, the depletion of a non-renewable natural resource.
The negative environmental impact from cellphones is currently still progressing upward due to the constant growth in production. An article published by Treehugger suggests that phones have gone from novelty items to one of the most central objects in human lives. Statistics have suggested that they are approximately 4.57 billion cellphone users in 2018. This is more that half of the world’s current population. We live in the era, where new technology is always being developed and updated versions of cellphones are constantly being released. Since their release in 2007, there has been 20 versions of the iPhone launched to this date. Consumers are enticed to purchase the new, updated versions of smartphones and may discard their current device. Research shows that over 60% of the mobile phones sales are replacements for already existing phones which are still functioning when discarded.
Where does these discarded cellphones go?
Data has shown that each discarded mobile device would contribute to the 50 million metric tons of e-waste which was expected to be generated by 2017. E-waste accumulated in landfills can impact the environment as the heavy metals and chemicals found in cellphones are released into the environment and leak into groundwater supplies and other water systems affecting human and aquatic life. More data from Treehugger states that during the average life span of a phone, which is about two years or less, it emits 94kg of carbon dioxide. This includes the total manufacturing process along with charging the phone and making calls across networks. In another article by Greenpeace, they have calculated that a total of 968 TWh of energy has been used in the production of smartphones since they were first created. This amount of energy is approximately the same amount of power used by India each year.
The environmental impacts associated with cellphones range from heavy metal contamination to natural resource depletion. The solution to reducing the environmental impacts associated with cellphones is replacing them only when they need to be and buying used when possible. This would reduce the rate at which manufacturers produce the phones and hence reduce the environmental effects associated with the production of cellphones.
References:
Pasternack, Alex. "The Environmental Costs (and Benefits) of Our Cell Phones." TreeHugger. February 05, 2018. https://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/the-environmental-costs-and-benefits-of-our-cell-phones.html.
"The Social and Environmental Impact of Mobile Phones | Green Living." RESET.to. https://en.reset.org/knowledge/ecological-impact-mobile-phones.
"Number of Mobile Phone Users Worldwide 2015-2020." Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/.
"Mining and Ore Processing." :: WorstPolluted.org : Reports https://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/89.
"Ethical Consumer." Ethical Consumer: The Alternative Consumer Organisation. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org