Disqus
What a strange title you might think – but I suggest you consider what might be the relation? Well I came to one the other day and it is thus: both are TERRIBLE in terms of their impact on the environment!
For those of you unlucky enough not to have a child/children, you may not realise the amount of waste that is created by these nappies – virtually all are single-use “disposable”, and usually wrapped in a non-degradable bag once used. Now, consider that somewhere between 4-6 nappies are created per child per day (more if the child isn’t well 
), and multiply that by the number of babies growing up per country/globally, and you have a MAJOR environmental detractor – thing is though, it all just gets buried, so the environmental timebomb is out of sight, out of mind… right?
Interestingly, mobiles have some similar form – they aren’t easily recycled, people leave them out of sight when they’ve finished using them, and they have some potentially toxic chemicals in them. Whilst there are not the same volume of units being buried in the ground, there is an environmental threat there based on the number that are “in stasis”.
In the Mobiles’ favour, there are now a number of schemes that allow you to get rid of your old mobile for money. The idea (I understand) is that devices are then re-purposed for developing countries, and can continue to be used. However, I wonder as to the efficacy of this process – mainly because I read more than one report since the start of the year that PCs which are supposed to be “re-purposed” are actually DUMPED in developing countries – in or on the ground…
It all sounds a bit negative doesn’t it – neither Nappies or Mobiles are potentially great environmentally, and whilst they have their differences (you wouldn’t hold a used nappy to your ear, would you!), there are similarities in the lack of decent solutions for disposing of them.
Is there a good answer(s) for processing either of them? I’d be very interested to see what the IntoMobile readers have to say on an issue which isn’t going to bite us now, but may well do in tens or hundreds of years… after all, we reap what we sow, right?
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
