[GreenYes] Cell Phones

["Peter Anderson" <anderson@recycleworlds.org>]

from Solid Waste Digest:

3. CELL PHONES BECOMING MAJOR TRASH PROBLEM

Within three years, Americans will discard about 130 million
cellular telephones a year, and that means 65,000 tons of
trash, including toxic metals and other health hazards,
according to a study by the environmental research
organization Inform.  The study by Inform said that on
average a cellular telephone is kept only 18 months and in
many cases discarded with the household garbage. By 2005,
there will be at least 200 million cell phones in use across
the country and another 500 million older phones may be
stockpiled, waiting to be thrown away, the report estimates.
Cell phones, along with other "wireless waste" from
increasingly popular pagers, pocket PCs and music players,
pose special problems at landfills or when they're burned in
municipal waste incinerators because they have toxic
chemicals in batteries and other components, said the
report.


______________________________
Peter Anderson
RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING Corp
4513 Vernon Blvd. Suite 15
Madison, WI 53705
Ph:    (608) 231-1100
Fax:   (608) 233-0011
Cell:   (608) 345-0381
email: anderson@recycleworlds.org
web:  www.recycleworlds.org

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