Ever wondered what effect your mobile phone has on our environment? What environmental hazards could it cause? Sometimes, mobile phones could cause more harm in our ecosystem than good. In this article, we’ll be looking at the effects of mobile phones on our ecosystem.
For over a decade, mobile phones have played a significant role in our lives. It has transformed our lives technologically and has become indispensable and an inseparable part of us.
In fact, mobile phones have become one of the most important technological inventions the world has ever experienced. Mobile phones even became more of a “can’t-do-without” invention when the smartphone emerged in the 2010’s.
The advent of mobile phones has not only allowed for people all around the world to connect with ease, but has also been adopted for different purposes such as conducting business, getting entertainment, getting informed with the latest happenings, providing emergency alerts, and even making money.
The inception of the smartphone is evident to say that mobile phones have remodeled the lives of millions of people even from the most rural areas into technological or mobile postmodernism.
Illiteracy, misinformation and poverty have decreased drastically among many lives by increasing their access to education, weather information (particularly important for farmers and fishermen), and critical knowledge pertaining to business and healthcare from even the most remote locations.
Currently, over 77% of the world’s population are mobile phone(s) usere (including smartphones), and that number is only continuing to grow. With increases in speed and other technological advancements of mobile phones, they now serve as keys to the world for much of the global population.
How then do mobile phones affect the ecosystem?
Most phone users are not aware of the chemical substances their devices are made of.
Some of these substances used include: arsenic, lithium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc, which are considered toxic.
When mobiles are discarded and disposed improperly, these toxic substances may be released or exposed from decomposing waste in landfills, hence contaminating the soils and seeping into groundwater.
Another detrimental environmental problem caused by mobile phones is what happens to them after they have exhausted their life cycle.
In the consumerist society of today, where technological advances and fashion vagrancies make manufacturers race against each other to produce smarter, slimmer and more eye-catching phones, people frequently “ upgrade” or replace their old phones while they’re still serviceable.
This leads to an incredible amount of avoidable and unsustainable waste. Not only does the plastic casing of the phone contribute to the dangerous problem of microplastic, but there’s an indeed lesser issue-waste.
Improper disposal of phones emits dangerous pollutants such as arsenic, lead, mercury and zinc, which can contaminate the atmosphere and hinder the health of people.
TTLC : Total Threshold Limit Concentration
To minimize these dangerous goods, both manufacturers and consumers must amend their habits to strive towards a more sustainable and less environmentally-dangerous smartphone model.
Conclusion
With India becoming one of the fastest growing phone-selling countries in the world, there are a lot of phones that are disposed of nonchalantly. We can properly dispose our mobile phones by this Eco-Friendly method.
If you’d love to dispose of your old phone and get a newer model, the safest, most eco-friendly method is to send us a message on WhatsApp- 8700 172 840, and one of our friendly team mates will be with you as soon as possible.