KEY POINTS:
There are thought to be more than a million unused mobile phones in New Zealand which could be recycled if people handed them in.
Already thousands of disused cellphones in New Zealand are being shipped to the other side of the world to be recycled into traffic cones, bin liners and buckets, or if still useable passed on to Third World countries.
Vodafone has been recycling mobile phones for four years, with well over 100,000 phones diverted from landfill in that time.
Tom Newitt, Vodafone's corporate responsibility manager, said despite the success of the scheme there was estimated to be over a million unused mobile phones in the country.
Research indicated about 15 per cent of them would have been thrown out in the rubbish, where they could leach toxic chemicals, but the bulk remained in people's possession.
Mr Newitt said figures from overseas showed people replaced their phones on average every 18 months and he estimated New Zealanders changed their phones about every two years.
Reasons included fashion and new features like the ability to take and send photos, video phone calling, and access to emails and the internet.
Mr Newitt said awareness about recycling phones had picked up and this year 40,000 old cellphones had been handed in.
Phones could be handed over for recycling at any Vodafone store, or sent to a freepost address.
"We accept all mobile phones, from any network, with phone batteries, chargers and accessories.
Telecom retail stores also had a recycling bin for old mobile phones, modems, chargers and even old landline phones.
Mr Newitt said large organisations and business could arrange a mobile recycling week, where Vodafone provided them with a recycling bin and materials to encourage employees to hand in their old mobiles.
In the past year the company had also been working with local councils to get recycling bins at waste transfer stations and recycling depots.
In Auckland mobile phones could be recycled through the Auckland Regional Council's HazMobile, a household hazardous waste collection service.
Mr Newitt said many of the phones collected were still in good working order.
"Rather than just recycling these phones for their raw materials these mobiles are tested, with suitable phones refurbished and reused in the developing world."
The phones, batteries and chargers which were beyond repair were recycled responsibly, he said.
"The plastics from the phones are likely to turn up in objects such as traffic cones, bin liners or buckets. The metals such as copper, platinum, silver and gold may go into the manufacture of electronics components or jewellery."
The phones were sent to a specialist recycling company in Britain but Vodafone was reviewing that because of insurance and shipping issues.
Steve Kerr, environmental manager Telecom, said the company was in the process of changing recyclers and was awaiting permits from the relevant agencies in the country to which the new recycler was located.
"We cannot elaborate further at this point due to the commercial negotiations under way."
There were recycling factories in a number of countries around the world, including Europe, Asia and the United States.
Telecom's phone recycling programme was started to ensure that old equipment and the potential effects on the environment from heavy metals and hazardous substances in the equipment was well managed.
For the 2006/07 financial year Telecom had collected 90 tonnes of mobile phones, chargers and modems for recycling.
Mr Kerr said Telecom aimed to have as many phones as possible refurbished for reuse before recycling.
Other countries in the world required mobile phones to be recycled, and the European Union had very strict regulations on electronic waste.
"It is an ongoing challenge to get the message out to people about recycling phones.
"We are working closely with the Ministry of the Environment and Vodafone to educate the public on this matter."
Mr Kerr said anecdotal data indicated that often when people changed phones they did not recycle them by passing them on to another family member or friend but left them in bottom drawers.
* Freepost, Vodafone Handset Recycling Programme, Private Bag 92222, Auckland.
101 USES FOR A USED CELLPHONE
* Nickel can be turned into saucepans, batteries or irons.
* Copper from circuit boards can be used for plumbing.
* Plastics can be granulated and converted into traffic cones.
HOW TOXIC IS YOUR CELLPHONE?
A cellphone consists of 40 per cent metals, 40 per cent plastics and 20 per cent ceramics and trace metals.
Circuit boards are made from mined, raw materials including copper, lead, nickel, zinc, beryllium, tantalum, coltan, and brominated flame retardants used to prevent fire.
The manufacture of these boards requires crude oil for plastic, and sand and limestone for fibreglass.
Many of these materials are known as "persistent toxins" and can remain in the environment for a long time after disposal.
Various liquid crystalline substances, either naturally occurring (such as mercury, a potentially dangerous substance) or man-made, are used to make LCDs. LCDs also require the use of glass or plastic.
A rechargeable battery is used to charge the phone.
Cellphones can use several types of battery: nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd) or lead-acid. Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries contain nickel, cobalt, zinc, cadmium and copper.
The rechargeable nickel-metal hydride battery is similar to a nickel-cadmium battery, which is used in older mobile phones. Long-term exposure to cadmium can damage the bones and kidneys and cause lung damage.
