Globe launches biggest mobile recycling program

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom has launched a program for recycling discarded mobile phones and electrical devices to help counter their harmful effects on health and the environment as well as raise awareness on proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).

Globe expects the project, dubbed as “Project 1 Phone” and touted as the biggest of its kind, to get the support of the company’s 45 million subscribers nationwide.

“Obsolete and discarded electronic and electrical devices which we call e-waste often end up in landfills and incinerators, causing toxic metals to be released into the air and seep into the ground and waterways,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe senior vice president for corporate communications, during the program launch last Friday.

Crisanto cited studies showing that one single cadmium battery has the potential to pollute up to 600,000 liters of water if not disposed of properly.

“Globe is helping address this problem through Project 1 Phone which espouses correct disposal of e-waste – in this case mobile phones, tablets, chargers and batteries to prevent health problems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.  “This is also one way to concretize the company’s commitment to sustainability,” she added.

Based on a report of the United Nations Environment Program entitled “Recycling – from E Waste to Resources,” the amount of e-waste being produced globally could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade.

The DoSomething.Org reported that about 20 million to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide every year, with only 12.5 percent being recycled.

A Globe statement showed that responsible recycling is the “most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem.”

Precious metals like gold, silver, copper and palladium as well as plastics in most electronic devices such as old phones can be recovered for re-manufacture.

Less energy is also needed for recycling than for mining virgin metals and producing virgin plastics.

For the campaign’s initial run, Globe will put up recycle bins in 21 Globe stores across the country.

Globe is also encouraging schools, corporations, local government units and other private and non-government organizations to participate in the campaign by paying for recycle bins. 

Interested parties may email Globe [email protected].

Project 1 Phone is Globe Telecom’s second nationwide mobile recycling campaign after the iRecover, iRecycle Program conducted in 2011.