Some green thinking on the new iPhone

Where will the iPhone eventually go?

As you probably know Apple recently announced the launch of its new iPhone that neatly combines several gadgets into one sexy touchscreen device. After watching Steve Jobs presentation at Macworld in San Francisco. I responded like most gadget freaks, I want one, Now! Never mind, that I barely use the majority of functions on the cell phone I already have, Never mind, that I think the incessant cell phone chatter in public a blight on our society, and never mind that I’m concerned about the growing concerns over toxic cell phone ewaste. It just looks too cool to worry about anything else but when can I get it!  But after the glow faded and reality sank in, I did a bit of research and found that first of all the overall cost of an iphone would be around $1,936.00 after you’ve paid all the plans, etc. Ouch!

But what about the cost to society? According to recyclemycellphone.org;
“There are more than 500 million used cell phones in the US sitting on shelves or in our landfills, and another 130 million will be added this year alone. The problem is growing at a rate of more than 2 million phones per week!

Cell phones contain toxic materials such as lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, cadmium, and antimony. If incinerated these substances can pollute the air, in landfills they can leach into groundwater.

Many of the materials found in cell phones are also on the EPA’s list of persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs). Because PBTs accumulate in fatty tissue of humans and animals, the toxins are gradually concentrated, putting those at the top of the food chain at the greatest risk, especially children. According to the EPA, “PBTs are associated with a range of adverse human health effects, including damage to the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer and genetic impacts.”

Of course since the iPhone isn’t yet available it isn’t clear what, if any, toxic materials the iPhone contains. At the price point the iPhone is being introduced it would likely encourage people to hold on to the phone much longer than much cheaper phones, and delay its eventual trip to a landfill or recycle center for cellphones. However, some worry that Apple makes it difficult to replace the battery for a non-techy end user and that people will be more likely to just throw it away instead of replacing the battery when it dies. Apple supporters say the cost of replacing the battery through Apple is minimal compared to buying a new model and that there are kits on the market for iPods to change the battery yourself for much less. Presumably this will be the case with the iPhone as well. Greenpeace’s current campaign to pressure Apple to be more eco-friendly has an article on the iPhone here.

Many people complain that Greenpeace is just grandstanding, and that Apple is actually much better with environmental concerns than Greenpeace is portraying.

Here is an excellent discussion at the Temas Blog at temasactuales.com of what companies like Apple can do to make greener electronics from the ground up.
There are some companies, like NEC who are starting to think of ways to make the cell phone more earth friendly, like this 2005 model of a corn-based phone, seen on engadget.com

Here are some links to terrific information on cellphone ewaste and recycling your cellphone:
www.eco-cell.org/
http://www.recyclemycellphone.org

The ecologist magazine online has a excellent article
(but only partial) from it’s print version of what cellphones are doing to our culture. Here is a quote from their article

“A cell phone user now typically ignores any person within earshot. I call this ‘the “it” factor’. Users turn everyone in their presence into inanimate objects, an ‘it’, as if that person does not exist.”

“Observe parents with children in strollers or in parks. Many no longer interact with those children, introducing them to the community. Instead, parents are on cell phones, ignoring their charges. They are ‘its’, too.”
Finally here is a wonderful link to Chris Jordan, an awesome photographer, who has done a series of exceptional work exploring the issue of ewaste.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Apple, cellphone, Computers, EcoFriendly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.