news.com.au
By: Andrew Ramadge, Technology Reporter
Pots and pans, fence posts and a skerrick of precious metals - that's how your mobile phone could end up after being recycled.
Mobile phone industry recycling program MobileMuster is currently calling on "hoarders" – people who stockpile old phones – to turn their handsets in.
About one third of Australians have two or more old phones stashed away at home, according to industry research.
MobileMuster recycling manager Rose Read said 90 per cent of a phone, on average, could be recycled, with recovered parts used for other products like pots and pans, fence posts and new mobiles.
"Most phones have a lithium ion battery now. The outer shell is a nickel base and the inside is lithium ion," she said.
"They can recover that. They get a cobalt oxide powder out which they can reuse for making more batteries.
"The outer shell, the nickel, stays solid when it goes through the process. They then shred that and use it for stainless steel manufacturing.
"It's quite amazing. Some of it will be used for pots and pans and some of it may go back into batteries."
Ms Read said mobile phone circuit boards were processed to retrieve small amounts of precious metals like silver, gold, copper and lead, while the outer casings were mixed with other recycled material to make new products.
"The plastics are separated and they get shredded and then combined with plastics from computers or cars, down in Melbourne, and turned into fence posts," she said.
MobileMuster's recycling program is supported by an industry levy on each handset shipped into the country. Manufacturers pay most of the levy, and phone carriers the rest.
To recycle your old phones with MobileMuster you can drop off handsets in person at the stores of most phone makers and carriers including Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Nokia and Crazy John's.
You can also pick up a free recycling satchel at Australia Post outlets to send handsets by mail.