United States | US consumers who bought new mobile handsets in the final quarter of last year recycled their old phones at double the rate of the third quarter. Nevertheless, only 9.4% of those consumers took the recycling option in fourth quarter 2007, according to a study conducted by research agency iSuppli involving 50 000 US households.
‘iSuppli’s fourth-quarter survey indicates that while US consumers increasingly are recycling their old handsets, there’s still plenty of room for improvement,’ says Greg Sheppard, Chief Development Officer for iSuppli. ‘More US consumers were motivated to recycle their handsets by the rising awareness of green issues when it comes to disposal of electronic waste. Wireless companies are promoting the recycling of old phones, making it easier for consumers to do so.’
So what did the other 90.6% of new handset buyers do with their old handsets? ‘More than one third of all old handsets, 36.8% to be precise, were stored away in the fourth quarter of 2007 and now are collecting dust in closets throughout America,’ Mr Sheppard notes. ‘Consumers keep their old phones because they perceive them to have some residual value. However, all too often, those handsets end up in the trash when spring cleaning comes.’
Acknowledgement
www.isupply.com
