Reduce, reuse and recycle is the foundation of sustainable living. However, experts from IEEE have identified repair as an equally important, environmentally-friendly R-word, especially when it comes to the consumer electronics industry. Through modest design changes, cellphone manufacturers can improve the repairability of its products and streamline the upstream manufacturing process, thereby minimizing environmental impact, while also improving global commerce and social development.
"Cellphone companies manufacture a wide range of devices to meet the technological and budget requirements from early adopters to first-time cellphone owners in the leading world markets and developing nations across the globe. Upstream cellphone manufacturing can be reduced by employing designs that enable easier and more economic device repairability, so refurbished phones from the first market can have an extended life through use in the secondary and tertiary markets. This process would not only help reduce the environmental impact from the manufacturing process, but also provide more advanced technology for developing nations, helping to stimulate global commerce and to improve the quality of life around the globe," said Stu Lipoff, IEEE Fellow & President of IP Action.
According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship more than 1.7 billion mobile phones in 2013, and this number is forecasted to grow 1.4 per cent year-over-year. There is a considerable environmental impact to manufacturing this volume of cellphones when you consider that it takes approximately 165 pounds of raw materials to manufacture a cellphone and over 8 gallons of water to produce one microchip.
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