Sustainablity, A New Life to E-Waste
Cell phones have become a necessary tool for most Americans—an estimated 97% of Americans own a cellphone and 86% of those cell phones are smartphones. Overall, there is an estimated 300 million cell phones in use throughout the US.
Cell phones can contain toxic metals in some of their internal components. For example, the circuit boards in cell phones can contain heavy metals such as arsenic and lead in addition to the other valuable metals such as gold, copper, and platinum. The rechargeable batteries in cell phones contain lithium and cobalt which makes the cell phone batteries hazardous waste as well. If disposed of improperly, these toxic metals may harm the environmental by contaminating our soil and water resources. Because of their potential toxicity, cell phones must be handled as a hazardous waste and not thrown away in our everyday trash ( Source: dtsc.ca ).