The toxins in discarded mobile phones polluting waters

As we develop new technology, we discard the old one in a flash. With no thought, we get rid of our old smart phones to buy the new product, without thinking of its implications. The BBC article talks on this fact, how mobile phone waste in particular is becoming a growing problem in the Ivory Coast, mentioning how people simply throw old phones away “in the bin” rather than fixing old phone. Thus accumulating waste that is spreading toxic material into the water (Erbie Lagoon) and affecting health. It also speak on the efforts of Mr.Akim to help run a local recycling centre that helps reduce this waste.

This is an issue not just in Ivory Coast, but here as well. The current mobile phone industry is structured in a way that a launch of a new product makes customers replace their old phone immediately, even if it is in working condition. But is this a good practice? Clearly, as the article showed, it isn’t, especially if the waste of the phones is producing negative side effects. I admire the work Mr.Akim is doing; by recycling the old mobile phones thrown away, not only are they creating a bit of profit for themselves, but the centre is helping create a better environment for the children and residents of the area.

Source: BBC article: Mobile recycling centre and Mr. Akim

This again reinforced the benefit of CSV in my eyes. Mr.Akim said in the article “Somehow they are useful to us and we are also profitable to them,” and this in my eyes is essential in business. Customers and producers share a symbiotic relation, they are incomplete without each other. If both parties can gain something from each other, the relation reaches its peak. I think achieving this concept of shared value in our buying and selling practices will help reduce such issues in the future. Mr.Akim and the recycling centre in my eyes have grasped and implemented this concept perfectly! And as for us mobile phone consumers, it’s time someone reminded us that the
planet is not a dumping ground for our out of demand phone models; it’s time we cleaned up after ourselves!

Works Cited

Ford, Tamasin. “Ivory Coast Tackling Its Toxic Mobile Waste Problem.” BBC News. BBC, 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.