Nokia recently conducted a poll that asked people what would it take for them to recycle their mobile phone? The Finnish handset maker says that as of today 91% of mobile phone owners don’t recycle. That’s an alarming figure, but you have to think about how many people probably just give their old device to a friend or family member. With that in mind, here’s the results: 44% said they’d recycle if they got money in return, 13% said they’d recycle if there was easier access to a recycling center, 12.5% said they need a gift card to be motivated, 11.7% said they wouldn’t even recycle since they’ve got too many fond memories of the time they’ve spent with their device, and 9.7% want to see the next Nokia they purchase come with a prepaid envelope that they can put their old device in so that it can be sent off to the proper recycling facility.
This is a tough one. Nokia, along with every other company who makes consumer electronics equipment, go out of their way to say how green they are and how they want to make sure that our planet will be safe for future generations, but at the same time they’re part of the problem since they supply marketeers with insane amounts of money just to convince people from all walks of like that what they own right now is inferior, that they need to upgrade in order to get the best experience possible on a mobile device, and that unless they keep abreast of the latest trends, they’re somehow being left behind as the human race marches towards a techno utopia.
Look, if you’re planning on throwing away a new phone, just take it to the place where you’re planning to buy a new one. They’ll likely know what to do with it, and if they don’t … donate your used and abused device to charity.
[Photo Credit: Converge Weekly]