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Next big threat: Cell phone waste
By siliconindia   |   Monday, 02 November 2009, 14:45 IST   |    23 Comments
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Next big threat: Cell phone waste
New Delhi: Discarded old handsets could poison the environment as an estimated 8,000 tonnes of cell phone waste will be there on earth by 2012. There is a growing need to better manage the rising cell phone waste, as it is posing a threat to the environment, according to a whitepaper by global consultancy firm, Deloitte. Due to rapid improvement in technology and product design, users are opting for new mobile phones and are discarding the old ones. "With the absence of a proper recycle and reuse program, about 8,000 tonnes of toxic cell phone components are estimated to be dumped in landfills by 2012. The resulting contamination will have far reaching consequences for the environment and all living beings," said Parag Saigaonkar, Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting India Regional to PTI. The problem begins when retired handsets end up in landfill sites or if they are dumped illegally, leading to toxic substances seeping into the groundwater, making disposal of old cells a problem for the world, the report revealed. "As India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world in terms of mobile phone subscribers, we need to be more aware of the threat, which these gadgets pose to the environment and strict government guidelines should be created to deal with it," Saigaonkar added.

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