E-Waste Generation from Mobile Phones and Sustainability Issues for Designers

ICORD 11: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Research into Design Engineering, Bangalore, India, 10.-12.01.2011

Year: 2011
Editor: Chakrabarti, A.
Author: Yammiyavar,G.Pradeep; Kumar,Vikash
Section: Eco-Design, Sustainable Manufacturing, Design for Sustainbility
Page(s): 523-532

Abstract

Recent contribution of mobile phones as e-waste generators is a matter of concern due to the product’s shorter lifespan, large disposal volume, toxic nature of materials, higher energy requirement at production stage etc.With the predicted exponential penetration of mobile phones in countries such as India and China e-waste is likely to nullify the benefits unless properly approached. Addressing these concerns the first part of this paper attempts to estimate the volume of e-waste generated by mobile phones. Identification of key issues impacting the sustainability ofmobile phones is discussed in the second part using product samples. This paper is an attempt to understand issues involved in sustainable design and explore possible methods of addressing sustainability at the designing stage of a product

Keywords: E-waste, Mobile phones, Design for sustainability, Culture.

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