Review
Management of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea: A review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.07.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Environmentally sound management of end-of-life mobile phones is an issue of growing concern in Korea and around the world. This paper discusses the generation rate, collection systems, and recycling processes of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea. The results were based on review of the existing literature, a survey of 1090 consumers, site visits to electronic waste recycling facilities, and interviews with mobile telecommunication companies and environmental regulatory authorities. The results show that on average 14.5 million mobile phones have been retired annually in Korea over the period of analysis (2000–2007). A large fraction of used & end-of-life mobile phones has been stored at home waiting for disposal. Approximately five million used & end-of-life mobile phones have been collected by mobile telecommunication companies and producers annually between 2004 and 2007. The results of the consumer survey showed that the average Korean consumer typically replaces his/her mobile phone every 28.8 months. Since collection and recycling of mobile phones has only recently started, the methods and infrastructure for collection and recycling process for used & end-of-life mobile phones have not yet been well-established. More active collection activities and systems for used & end-of-life mobile phone are still needed, adding more collection points where consumers can drop off their used mobile phones. Producers, consumers, mobile telecommunication companies, and local governments should consider more collective actions that can be taken to promote successful collection and recycling schemes.

Introduction

One of the strongest demands for electronic devices by consumers is for mobile phones (also called cellular phones). This high demand is because they serve not only as an addition to traditional line telephones but also as a primary means of communication. In the world, the use of mobile phones has grown exponentially from the first few users in the 1970s to 4.6 billion in 2007 (ITU, 2009). The market for new mobile phones has been growing in many countries. More than 1.15 billion mobile phones were sold worldwide in 2007, a 16 percent increase from the 991 million mobile phones sold in 2006 (CNET News, 2008).

Korea's mobile phone services market began operating in 1984. The market has continued to grow and has now reached near saturation along with rapid developments in mobile phone technologies (Lee et al., 2009). Subscribers have increased from 20,353 in 1988 to more than 45 million in 2008, as shown in Fig. 1 (KCC, 2008). In 2008, more than 23 million mobile phones were sold in Korea (KOSIS, 2008). Mobile phones are frequently replaced by new models having a more modern design and/or a larger number of functions. The large consumer demand for newer mobile products and the advanced development of ICT has resulted in a tremendous amount of obsolete mobile phones. The number of obsolete mobile phones worldwide is estimated to be higher than 500 million (Monteiro et al., 2007).

A mobile phone typically consists of many components (e.g., plastic housing, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, liquid crystal display, ceramics and glass, and printed circuit boards) commonly found in other electronic devices. It contains more than 30 elements, including precious metals (e.g., gold, cobalt, palladium, and rhodium) (UNEP, 2006). This device has rapidly progressed to smaller, lighter models weighing less than 100 g. The components in mobile phones vary from model to model, however. As the information technology advances, changes in the composition are expected.

A mobile phone along with its battery also contains toxic metals and organic chemicals (Table 1). The metals commonly found in mobile phones include arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, and nickel as well as organic constituents such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and poly vinyl chloride (UNEP, 2006). Lead is the most common metal typically found in the lead solder of printed circuit board. Cadmium can be found in batteries, plastic components as a stabilizer and an additive color pigment in some mobile phones. The type of batteries used for mobile phones has rapidly changed over the past decade as a result of the technical development of the battery. The types of batteries that are commonly found in mobile phones include lithium-ion battery using a lithium–cobalt compound or lithium–polymer, nickel–metal hydride battery using a nickel hydroxide compound, and nickel–cadmium battery (Takamoro et al., 2003). The nickel–cadmium battery, an older type of battery, has a lower energy density than the lithium-ion and nickel–metal hydroxide type of batteries; therefore, it is less commonly used in current mobile phones. This technical transition has significantly reduced the energy consumption as well as the potential environmental impacts due to the absence of lead and cadmium in the batteries. Despite this transition, nickel–cadmium batteries are still found in older mobile phones that are still in use or that have been discarded.

Toxic chemicals found in mobile phones such as arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, and lead are known to be persistent and bioaccumulative hazardous substances. During the recycling and uncontrolled treatment processes of the waste, some chemicals can be released into the environment and may pose a threat to human health. Some brominated flame retardants can form highly toxic dioxins and furans during incineration and recycling (Fishbein, 2002, Scharnhorst et al., 2005). Therefore, it is essential that unwanted mobile phones do not end up in landfills and incinerators. Because mobile phones are relatively small, impacts resulting from disposal may be overlooked as being minimal. However, the growth in their use has been so rapid that the impacts can become a significant concern. Thus, proper management of discarded mobile phones is an issue of growing concern in Korea and around the world (Most, 2003, Skerlos et al., 2003, BAN, 2004, Musson et al., 2006, UNEP, 2006, Lincoln et al., 2007, Monteiro et al., 2007, Long et al., 2008, Osibanjo and Nnorom, 2008).

A resource recovery and recycling program provides an alternative option to improper disposal of end-of-life mobile phones, batteries and their accessories. Even though there have been successful recycling practices for a number of solid waste streams (e.g., municipal solid waste, construction waste) over the last decade in Korea, the collection and recycling of used & end-of-life mobile phones has recently begun. The methods and infrastructure for collection and recycling processes for the phones have not yet been well-established. Recycling of these devices is an important concern, not only from the point of waste treatment, but also for the recovery of secondary materials such as plastic, copper, iron, aluminum, cobalt, and lithium. Especially, mobile phone waste recyclers are much interested in recycling printed circuit boards because the boards contain valuable metals. Thus, the key to the success of recycling mobile phones depend on economically efficient technologies for recovering secondary materials from printed circuit boards. Other recyclable components may include chargers, nickel–cadmium (Ni–Cd) batteries, lithium-ion batteries, small sealed lead-acid (SSLA) batteries, and nickel–metal hydride (Ni–MH) batteries. In recent years, limited studies have addressed collection and recycling efforts and potential problems associated with mobile phone waste management (Most, 2003, Jang et al., 2007, Monteiro et al., 2007, Long et al., 2008).

This paper presents an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the collection and recycling of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea. In this study, the amount of retired and collected mobile phones, existing collection and recycling systems, and material recovery processes at mobile phone recycling facilities in Korea are discussed. It also reviews recent legislative efforts on collection and recycling of used & end-of-life mobile phones with an emphasis on the extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy. Finally, suggestions are made and current challenges are acknowledged concerning better recycling and management of used & end-of-life mobile phones.

Section snippets

Methodology

The methodology of this study included gathering data associated with annual domestic demands of mobile phones, questionnaire surveys, site visits, interviews and conversations, and review of available literature. The annual domestic demand and sales data of mobile phones were collected from the Korean Bureau of Statistics (KBS) and three major mobile telecommunication companies in Korea. The statistical data regarding the amount of used & end-of-life mobile phones retired and generated were

Generation of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea

In order to develop proper management strategy for used & end-of-life mobile phones, it is important to characterize the quantity and composition of current mobile phone waste streams. Several methods can be used to estimate the number of used & end-of-life mobile phones to be retired. In this paper, the word “retired” refers to phones that have been taken out of mobile phone service. A large fraction of these products that has been retired is stored in households and destined to enter the

Regulatory responses of used & end-of-life mobile phones management: extended producer responsibility (EPR)

As public attention regarding management electronic waste (e-waste) including mobile phone waste has increased worldwide, many efforts have recently been made to better manage the waste produced in Korea. In order to more effectively recover and process e-waste from consumers and to reduce its impact on the environment, the Korea Ministry of Environment (Korea MOE) promulgated the extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation for a number of electrical and electronic products including

Collection of mobile phone waste

Used & end-of-life mobile phones from consumers are mainly collected by local retailers and suppliers of mobile phones in Korea, as shown in Fig. 4. The local retailers and suppliers of mobile phones often recover an old product from consumers by offering economic incentives for the return of their used mobile phones when they purchase a new device. The trade-in price for old mobile phones depends upon the model of the phones, ranging mostly from 5 to 30 dollars. The local retailers and

Future challenges and suggestions

Over the past few years much effort has been made to better manage e-waste including mobile phone waste in Korea. Regulations and guidelines have recently been developed in order to establish an integrated e-waste management system. Since the EPR policy adopted by the Korea MOE has only recently started, the effectiveness of this policy cannot yet be determined. However, in this section, current and future challenges are acknowledged and several suggestions are made to improve the current

Conclusion

This paper presents an overview of the current management practices of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea. Specifically, the generation rates, existing collection system, recent regulatory efforts, recycling processes, and challenges and suggestions for better management of used & end-of-life mobile phones have been discussed.

The number of retired mobile phone each year was estimated using the average lifespan of the device, information regarding mobile phone subscribers and domestic

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by research fund of Chungnam National University in 2009. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Korea Association of Electronic and Environment, Korean mobile telecommunication companies, and electronic waste recycling facilities. Special thanks also go to Heeseok Kang, Hyunmyoung Yoon, former graduate students at Chungnam National University for gathering data during this study. Stephanie Ishii, a graduate student at University of Florida has

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