Why mobile phones are dangerous when they end up in landfill
If we throw our phone into a rubbish bin it will end up at in landfill. This is problematic for a couple of reasons.
Mobile phone batteries
The reason that we can charge our mobile phones over and over again is because they contain lithium-ion batteries. These lithium-ion batteries make our lives a lot easier, but they can be dangerous if they are not disposed of properly when you are no longer using your phone.
The risk with lithium-ion batteries if that if they are crushed or punctured, they can have a thermal event which can start a fire. This is extremely unlikely to occur when you are using your phone in your everyday life. However, it is more likely that your phone may be crushed when being transported to and dumped in landfill.
By recycling your mobile phone with RE:MOBILE, the lithium-ion batteries are removed from the mobile device and safely disposed of.
Leaching hazardous materials
Our mobile phones contain lots of valuable materials, but they also contain toxic heavy metals like lead, cobalt and nickel. These metals are necessary for making our phones function, but they can be dangerous if they end up in our environment.
Mobile phones that end up in landfill may get crushed or broken which means these hazardous substances could leach from the landfill and pollute nearby land and waterways. This can be harmful to human health. Even if they are not damaged, over time mobile phones will eventually break down which will release their components into the environment.
