Mobile Muster Myth Exposed - levy paying for more hot air

Monday, 30 July 2007 20:31

“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”, said Jeff Angel, Director of the Total Environment Centre.
    
Results from the survey, Mobile Muster Myth Exposed, show the scheme is failing on a number of fronts:

• The scheme’s coverage is extremely poor; fewer than 20% (25 retailers) of mobile phone retailers actually participate. 
  

• Only 8% of all stores (11 retailers) have a visible recycling bin.
  

• The performance of those retailers participating in the scheme is inconsistent, and lacking in many aspects such as:
  
          * Minimal promotional and/or educational material (29%)
          * Easily visible position of recycling bin (38%)

The ten bins and the four located in ANZ banks in the City of Sydney area are intended to cater for half a million people, who discard 300,000-350,000 mobile phones every year. We believe the survey to be representative of other parts of Australia.
    
“How long will governments allow mobile phones to go to landfill and levy money go down the drain? The NSW Government is running out of excuses not to regulate. Voluntary measures alone are proving insufficient. The toxic time bomb is ticking,” said Mr Angel.
    
Every year 8 million new phones are sold in Australia. Mobile phones are typically replaced with new ones every 18-24 months, leaving behind a growing mountain of potentially toxic waste. Once mobile phones reach landfill, heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic contained in the phone and battery can leach into ground water and put the environment and community health at risk.

“It’s time environment ministers imposed a regulated Extended Producer Responsibility scheme with clear targets, and make industry responsible and accountable for the waste it creates.  A refundable deposit on old phones would be a great incentive to get those phones out of bins and recycled.  There are successful examples from overseas,” said Mr. Angel.

For the full report, see Mobile Muster Myth Exposed.