New phone
On the weekend I got a new phone. My previous phone was a lemon. I’m not going to name the brand or model, because several of my friends had the same type with no problems at all, so I think mine was just a bit of bad luck. However, in spite of it being sent for repairs twice and having frequent cut-off issues, I made it last as long as I could. Now that it’s finally dead, I’ve got an Apple iPhone instead.
Obviously, any electronic device has an environmental impact that should be considered, so I tried to take that into account. Apple has an ok reputation on environmental issues, and seem more forward thinking than many other competing phone companies. You can see their eco-credentials at their website. In general, they’re very good at energy efficiency and reducing packaging, ok on recycling, and not so good on the manufacturing side of things.
My last phone came in a huge box with styrofoam and some other spongy foam things, 3 booklets and a manual I’ve never looked at. The iPhone came in a small box with no foam, just folded cardboard and two tiny pamphlets telling you how to get started, and how you can use the phone to read the manual online or download it to your computer. Except for 3 tiny bits of plastic, it’s all recyclable. In future I’d like to see it made from recycled materials, but Apple is definitely better than average in this regard.
You can recycle your old computer with them if you buy a new one from them, but they don’t offer a phone recycling service yet. I’m recycling my old phone through the Mobile Muster group, which has a drop-off point at my local Optus store. Mobile Muster is a nationwide program that’s been very successful so far, recycling over 525 tonnes of handsets as of March this year. You can sign up your business or school to be a collection point too, if you want to get involved.
I think it’s a good tactic to pressure the leading company rather than smaller or less popular ones. If you can get the market leader to meet your requirements, then they become the gold standard by which other companies are judged. I like to spend my money on the product with the best environmental record, but that often means that I’m spending my money with the same companies I’m complaining about, because they’re the ones most susceptible to pressure! Still, I think a complaint or request for action is more likely to be noticed if it comes from a customer than from a random person, so hopefully it’s a good tactic.
Bonus: One of the features of an iPhone has a small environmental impact too - it’s seriously cutting back on the amount of paper I use everyday. Because the iPhone has a large and useful screen, I’m replacing my calendar, diary, to-do lists, shopping lists, birthday lists and the usual half-dozen sticky notes I use to keep track of my life. My previous phone had a teeny-tiny calendar and a task list that felt like SMS, so the iPhone is much more usable in that respect. It feels good to clear out all that paper from my handbag, and into the recycling bin!
Tags: greenmyapple, iPhone
August 12th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Hi Julie,
I was given an apple iPod Touch 16Gb, about a year ago, which is exactly the same as the iPhone, but without the 3G phone. What cheeses me off the most, is that you cannot change the batteries when they eventually give up the ghost.
It is designed obselecance, which is a crime in this day and age, and Apple, unfortunately, are the worst culprits. If you can imagine how many iPhones have already been made, as well as the hundreds of millions of iPods that cannot have their batteries replaced, that is one hell of a lot of e-waste, mostly going to landfill in a few years time.
I just hope the expensive device lasts for at least 5 years, as well as your new phone, because I enjoy using it every day as well. In fact, I am typing this comment on it as I write. Cool, but not very green!
August 13th, 2008 at 9:55 am
You can get the battery replaced in the US, it’s just that you can’t do it yourself. The Aussie Apple site doesn’t mention iPhones/iTouches at all on their replacements page, but I’ve generally found their site to be a bit slow on the updates, so hopefully they offer the service too and just haven’t written up the iPhone details yet.
Apple have made improvements in this area recently, mostly I think due to the pressure from Greenpeace. Just goes to show that the squeaky wheel gets the grease