Old mobile phones, how to make the most of them

Original title: In the past 5 years, the mainland has produced an average of more than 400 million units per year——

How to make the best use of old mobile phones (Big Data Observation)

Core Reading

The mainland is not only a major producer of mobile phones, but also a major consumer of mobile phones. The comprehensive utilization of old mobile phones is of great significance for saving resources, protecting the environment, and promoting green, low-carbon and circular development. How to achieve the standardized disposal, efficient recovery and recycling of a large number of old mobile phones?

Data source: China Association of Circular Economy Drawing: Cai Huawei

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, in 2022, the output of mobile phones in mainland China will be 1.56 billion units, and the overall shipment of mobile phones in the domestic market will reach 272 million units. On the other hand, the number of used mobile phones is gradually rising.

Used mobile phones are one of the electronic wastes that are growing rapidly in terms of ownership and scrapping, and are difficult to dispose of. The China Association of Circular Economy estimates that in the past five years, the mainland has produced an average of more than 400 million used mobile phones per year. At the same time, a study by the association shows that after the mobile phone is discarded, about 54.2% are idle and retained by consumers, and only about 5% can enter the professional waste mobile phone recycling platform and the new recycling channel of "old for new".

Resource values and environmental risks coexist

A mobile phone accessory contains more than 60 elements and materials

How long does a phone last?

In general, the average lifespan of a mobile phone is between 3 and 5 years. However, for many users who pursue a "new" experience, the life of the mobile phone may end with the emergence of the next new product. The China Association of Circular Economy estimates that the average lifespan of a mobile phone is about 2.2 years. When the mobile phone reaches the end of its useful life, or cannot meet the needs of consumers, it will be eliminated and become a waste mobile phone.

With the increasing importance of environmental protection and green and low-carbon, the recycling of waste mobile phones has become an important topic in the field of circular economy.

A mobile phone accessories contain more than 60 kinds of elemental materials, including a variety of precious metals and rare metals, mobile phone materials and plastics, which account for 40%-50%, can be recycled.

"Used mobile phones can be said to be a veritable 'urban mineral'. "It is estimated that about 200 grams of gold, 2,200 grams of silver, 100 kilograms of copper and renewable materials can be extracted from each ton of used mobile phones." ”

However, used mobile phones also contain a variety of harmful substances. "If heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals in used mobile phones enter the soil and groundwater and accumulate in the ecosystem, it will bring risks to the ecological environment and human health. Liu Jianguo, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Environment and director of the Institute of Solid Waste Control and Resource Utilization, said.

The person in charge of the relevant business of OPPO Guangdong Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. explained that the materials of mobile phones are mainly metal materials and polymer materials, and the composition before and after disposal is basically the same, which is difficult to decompose naturally, and if there is no standardized disposal, it will have a long-term impact on the environment.

Liu Jianguo believes that in general, the resource value and environmental risks of waste mobile phones coexist. After standardized and modern treatment, good economic and environmental benefits can be achieved, but if it is not treated properly, it will lead to pollutant leakage and negative effects.

New recycling models are emerging

Privacy leakage and information security restrict recycling

Although it started late, the mainland waste mobile phone recycling industry is entering a period of development opportunities. At present, there are three main new recycling channels for used mobile phones in the mainland: one is the recycling of manufacturers, such as the "old for new" activities carried out by some domestic mobile phone manufacturers; the second is the recycling of sales platforms, such as the quotation and recycling services of used mobile phones provided by some e-commerce platforms; and the third is enterprise recycling, such as some enterprises recycle waste mobile phones through self-built platforms and cooperation with manufacturers.

The continuous emergence of recycling models with different characteristics has made the "standardized recycling" system of waste mobile phones increasingly sound. For example, some mobile phone recycling platforms provide offline stores, door-to-door, mail, self-service recycling machines and other recycling modes according to the different needs of users, and some mobile phone manufacturers also establish a complete product recycling system to ensure the standardization, specialization and transparency of mobile phone recycling.

For users who have mobile phone recycling needs, the privacy protection of used mobile phones is their most concerning. Ms. Ma, who lives in Beijing, every time she tidies up her room, the biggest headache for her is her old mobile phone. "It's not that I'm 'nostalgic', I really don't know what to do with them, and I don't feel safe when I throw them away or sell them, so I can only put them at home to 'eat ashes'. ”

Ms. Ma also thought about selling her used mobile phone, but considering the large amount of personal information stored in the mobile phone, once the relevant information is stolen, personal privacy security will not be guaranteed. In addition, Ms. Ma believes that the recycling market of used mobile phones is "too deep", and there is a big gap between the recycling price and her psychological expectations, so she dispelled this idea.

Compared with the number of mobile phones owned and scrapped, the recycling rate of mobile phones in mainland China is still low. According to the relevant research of the China Association of Circular Economy, at present, there are three main flows of mobile phones in mainland China after they are discarded: one is to be idle and retained by consumers, the other is to enter the recycling link through traditional channels such as street vendors, and the third is to recycle through new recycling channels. Among them, more than half of them are idle at home, and new recycling channels account for the lowest proportion.

Privacy leakage and information security are the pain points that restrict the recycling of used mobile phones. Ge Jian, a mobile phone security expert of 360 Group, said that at present, the main ways to clear personal data of mobile phones include restoring factory settings and clearing stored data.

"At present, major mobile phone manufacturers and security manufacturers are committed to developing data erasure technology. However, it should be noted that some mobile phone brands factory reset is only a system recovery, and the stored data still exists, you need to check the option to erase all stored data at the same time when restoring factory settings. If you are worried that the personal information in your phone can still be recovered, you can take the method of filling in the data repeatedly to completely clean up the personal information. Ge Jian said.

Liu Jianguo believes that it is necessary to start from the legal level and the supervision and law enforcement level to ensure the information security of consumers.

The development of the recycling industry still needs to be regulated

Facing constraints such as imperfect standard system and insufficient comprehensive processing capacity

In recent years, the "Regulations on the Recycling and Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products", the Law on the Promotion of Circular Economy, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, and the "Opinions on Promoting the Transformation and Upgrading of the Renewable Resources Recycling Industry" have been promulgated and implemented, and a relatively complete policy system has been gradually formed.

However, the waste mobile phone recycling industry still faces shortcomings such as imperfect policy and standard system, insufficient comprehensive treatment capacity, low willingness of consumers to recycle waste mobile phones, long recycling process, and high recycling costs.

In terms of policies and systems, Pan Yonggang suggested that relevant laws and regulations should be further improved for the part of the recycling process involving the destruction of privacy information, and at the same time clarify the dismantling guidelines and subsidy standards for discarded mobile phones.

In terms of technology and industrial development, Liu Jianguo said that the recycling of waste mobile phones still mainly relies on manual dismantling, which restricts the environmental harmlessness and efficient treatment and utilization of waste mobile phones in the mainland, and the number of large-scale enterprises in the industry is small, and only a few enterprises have practical experience in engineering.

In terms of industry norms, Wang Yongliang, CEO of ATRenew, said that the traditional mobile phone recycling industry has complex transaction levels, many middlemen, and a lack of unified industry standards.

Wang Yongliang suggested that the construction of recycling networks should be strengthened to provide users with more convenient and efficient recycling services, the digital and intelligent transformation of the supply chain should be realized through scientific and technological innovation, and the operational efficiency should be improved.

Liu Jianguo suggested that it is necessary to speed up the implementation of the extended producer responsibility system, and at the same time explore the feasible mode of special recycling of waste mobile phones as special categories of garbage in the promotion of garbage classification;