Motorola Grasp aims to help consumers reduce e-waste

The Motorola Grasp is now available at all Cellcom stores. This eco-friendly device is BFR and PVC free with a housing that is 100 percent recyclable at end of life. It was designed to help reduce technology waste when the phone is recycled. Cellcom is one of the first carriers in the United States to add the Motorola Grasp to their line-up.

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing problem in the United States with 2.25 million tons of electronics, including TVs, computers, printers, and cell phones, disposed of annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Only about 18 percent of all electronics and 10 percent of cell phones are recycled. The remaining products end up in landfills and incinerators, which can allow the hazardous chemicals in e-waste to leach out of landfills into groundwater or be emitted into the air.

Devices, like the Grasp, are being designed by manufacturers to be more environmentally friendly by phasing out the use of substances like lead and cadmium. Manufacturers are also decreasing the weight of cell phones and using recyclable materials.

Cellcom and other wireless carriers also do their part by offering cell phone recycling programs. In the recycling process, some of the cell phones and accessories recycled can be refurbished for reuse and sent back into the world market. If cell phones cannot be reused, precious metals that would otherwise need to be mined from the earth are pulled from the retired cell phones in the US according to EPA standards. To date, Cellcom’s recycling program has generated $75,000 and was donated back to local communities.

In addition to protecting the environment and helping local communities, the EPA reports that if only one million cell phones were recycled, the energy saved from the process would provide electricity for 185 US households for one year.