Mobile phones

You must have heard the ad at least once on the radio; how to round up all old mobile phones for Cleanup Australia.
Mobile muster is the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry.

In Australia only, it is estimated that there were 8 million new mobile phone sold in 2006/2007. The average Australian typically upgrades their phones every 12-18 months. Only 3% of all mobile phones sold in Australia are currently being recycled. There are an estimated 12-16 million mobile phone handsets lying around unused.... What is the problem? Many components of mobile phones are toxic and not biodegradable. More info on this fact sheet and a more colorful one.

It's a very good idea to recycle this article because there are so many of them laying around. And if I had to say it, I would add also the MP3 players, memory sticks and other small electronical gadgets...
Even better, create them from biodegradable plastic and get the toxic part in one simple device which is easy to remove to put in the recycling bin when the phone is out of use.
We, as designers, should think more carefull about recycling products which are frequently used and updated.

So get all your old mobiles and