Old cell phone for recycling surrenders only a negligible amount of Czechs. Worldwide statistics are zrecyklovaných mobiles even less optimistic. It is estimated that the recycling lines goes up 1% of all mobile phones. In the best case, people have old mobile phones at home stored in drawers, or worse, end up illegally in the trash. One blown mobile phone while in nature containing harmful substances can degrade over one hundred thousand liters of water. Forward it to recycling is getting easier designated places annually increasing.
"We are currently in the Czech Republic a few thousand places where you can old mobile phone free of charge for recycling. Among the electro mobiles, however, are the least odevzdávaným appliances, the total amount of used equipment people commit only about 5%, "said Peter Kubernát, representative of REMA system that deals with the take-back of WEEE.
The growth zrecyklovaných number of mobile phones and mobile operators trying. He admits, however, that interest in sound way old cell phone is not too high. "Recycled customers only surrender units percent of mobile phones purchased in our stores. Often, they have phones in drawers at home. But if you offer a small incentive - for example, in the past we gave for old mobile DVD or jewelry Trash Made, customer interest in recycling increases, "said Philip Premysl, senior manager of corporate responsibility at Vodafone.
Czechs lack of interest on the return of mobile phones in turn means a huge amount of unused materials that could get their recycling. It is also a precious metal such as gold, silver, palladium or platinum. Mobile phone for example, contains on average 24 milligrams of gold and even 205 milligrams of silver. For the layman, but it is of course impossible precious metals matyerial separated from the rest. Specialized companies to perform complex recycling methods and subsequent refining.
"First, it is necessary to separate the interest component containing precious metals from the rest of the material. Once acquired precious metal goes through a homogenizing melting and further analysis that accurately determine the metal content in the melt and their purity. Subsequently, precious metals suitable technological process vyrafinují to 4N purity of 99.99%, "describes the process of acquiring precious metals from mobile phones Tomas Plachy, CEO SAFINA, a leading processor of materials containing precious metals in Central and Eastern Europe. "Pure metal can then be re-used to produce a wide range of products. Most of us goes to the electrical, automotive, glass and chemical industries, "said Shy.
Recycling is compared with the extraction much easier way to obtain rare materials. From the tons of old mobile phones can receive up to 350 grams of gold, the same amount of primary gold-bearing rock is obtained only 5 grams. Mining poses a huge burden on the environment and has a negative impact on the lives of many animal species. For example, large-scale mining of coltan, which is used to make miniature capacitors in mobile phones, in Africa threatens the life of lowland gorillas. In order to reduce its extraction because zoo around the world collect old mobile phones for recycling, and in addition the following cast for each phone is given a certain amount to save gorillas.
"In the Czech Republic, people have the opportunity to donate an old cell phone to support gorilla already in 15 zoos. Cast for each phone goes 10 crowns to protect Cameroon's Dja Biosphere Reserve, where gorillas live," said Peter Kubernát of the company REMA System, which since 2010 implemented together with the Prague zoo project "Bring old cell phone - support forest guardian."
Map of collection sites at Prague Zoo website .
Source: Lesenský.cz, Zoo Praha