The Mobile Muster mobile phone recycling scheme in Australia has been slammed by the Total Environment Centre (TEC), who said the industry-run voluntary recycling program is ‘pathetic’, having failed to boost recycling recovery rate beyond 3%.

“After seven years in the game, all the industry can claim is a pathetic 3% recycling rate, despite collecting a levy on every new phone sold. Mobile Muster is all spin and no substance”, Jeff Angel, TEC director told current.

A survey conducted by TEC in the City of Sydney shows low participation, weak promotional campaign and poor implementation of the recycling scheme. Only 20% of the mobile phone retailers join the scheme. Among the participating stores, only 29% use mobile recycling promotional materials and only 38% place their recycling bin at a visible location.

TEC is calling on governments to make the mobile phone industry more accountable for the waste it creates and suggested to get into an extended producer responsibility scheme with clear targets.

Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), which runs Mobile Muster, labeled TEC’s criticisms as ‘misdirected and misleading’. Contrary to the claim made by TEC which says old mobile phones are making their way to landfills across Australia, many mobile phone users are not throwing out their old phones.

Rose Read, AMTA recycling manager cited a research finding by IPOS which says 82% of mobile phone owners choose to keep their old mobile phones or pass them to another person.

While mobile phone owners or the person they may have passed the phone is going to keep it, they will eventually discard their phones. Without effective recycling program put in place, the eight million mobile phones sold yearly in Australia could bring dangerous consequences to health and environment.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 8:43 pm under Cell phones.

Read more entries by Ruben Francia.
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