BENGALURU: E-waste is a growing threat to the environment, with smartphones being a major contributor. Two million tonnes of e-waste are contributed by India alone. More than 50 per cent of Bengaluru’s e-waste is five years old and while citizens are aware of e-waste disposal, only 31 per cent of them have disposed it by giving it to the local waste collector/aggregator. 91mobiles.com, a gadget discovery site, recently conducted a survey across the country to understand phone recycling habits of smartphone users. The pan-India survey saw participation from over 15,000 smartphone users.
It revealed that when upgrading a smartphone, only 1 out of 10 users in Bengaluru would consider recycling their old phones. More than 27 per cent of device users still believe they can pass on their old smartphones to someone else after using it. The survey saw that 10 per cent of mobile phone users in the city have more than five outdated mobile phones at their homes. Four out of 10 smartphone users said they have kept their old devices because they didn’t get the best trade-in value for their outdated phones. On the other hand, six in 10 smartphone users in Bengaluru said they would recycle their old phone for cash.
Nitin Mathur, co-founder and CEO, 91mobiles.com said, “Recycling old/unused phones is the need of the hour. With new smartphones hitting the market on a daily basis, it is imperative to guide smartphone buyers on how to dispose of their old devices responsibly.” While upgrading, more than 80 per cent of smartphone users in Bengaluru have never considered recycling their old or unused phones. “Our challenge, therefore, is to convert them into conscious citizens who would recycle their old smartphones readily. With our Pledge to Recycle initiative, we are trying to educate people on the harm caused by e-waste and help them find platforms to recycle or sell their unwanted e-products,” he added.