Samsung’s future phones that were unveiled this week, starting with the Galaxy S22, will incorporate recycled plastic from fishing nets scavenged from the sea. It’s a step in the right direction, but the marathon is a long way off. to be finished.
About 640,000 tons of fishing nets are abandoned annually in the seas. However, there should be 50 less this year, thanks to Samsung’s new program which provides for the integration of recycled plastic from this material in all its mobile devices.
“What is difficult with recycled materials is that their properties have deteriorated with use and treatment. They are therefore less durable and can more easily break, scratch or discolor,” notes Pranveer Singh Rathore, head of research and development of new materials at Samsung, in a video released by the company.
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Nets
– Samsung plans to recycle 50 tons of fishing nets for use in its devices in 2022.
Don’t go calling the Galaxy S22 a recycled phone, though. Because of the constraints to which telephones are subjected – in particular they must resist water and temperature variations – the recycled parts contain only 20% plastic from fishing nets. And these make up only a small part of the device.
The ocean plastic is found only in the internal protective case of the S-Pen stylus in the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and in an internal component of the buttons for volume and start. Polycarbonate from post-consumer recycled materials is also used, especially in the internal module for the loudspeakers.
It’s not much, but it’s more than last year. And, we will not raise our noses at the 50 tonnes of fishing nets removed from the sea each year, while remembering that this represents only a fraction of what is thrown back there.
Not a first, but almost
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Ocean-Plastic-Mouse
– The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse contains 20% recycled plastic from seas, oceans and rivers. Photo: Microsoft
The Samsung Galaxy S22 isn’t the first tech device to contain recycled plastic that would otherwise end up in the oceans, but it’s probably the biggest of its kind.
Microsoft launched last year the souris Ocean Plastic, of which 20% of the plastic is recovered from the seas, oceans and rivers. The durability and quality requirements of a $34.99 mouse, however, are not the same as those of a phone over $1,000. The volume produced won’t be the same either: Microsoft’s mouse is a fringe product for the company, while Samsung is expected to sell several million Galaxy S22 phones this year.
HP ink cartridges, to name a few, also incorporate plastic from water bottles, some of which would have ended up in nature.
There are also other types of recycled materials in modern gadgets. Cases for Apple’s MacBook Air, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac Mini, for example, are produced with 100% recycled aluminum. Overall, however, these products are more the exception than the rule.
A small part of the problem
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Pieces-recyclees
– Only two parts of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra contain plastic from fishing nets. Photo: Samsung
As we explained recently in an article on the social responsibility of tech companies, the environmental problems related to the major tech brands are numerous. Waste produced during the assembly of devices, difficult gadgets, greenhouse gas emissions for the manufacture and transport of devices, polluting extraction of rare minerals: the list of practices to be improved is long.
However, the tide seems to be turning a little. Last summer, for example, Samsung had promised, with its program Galaxy for the planet, to incorporate recycled materials in all of its mobile devices by 2025, to eliminate all plastics from its mobile product packaging, to reduce the consumption of phone chargers and to landfill no waste from product factories mobiles (telephones, tablets, etc.) of the company. The Galaxy S22, with its smaller box, its paper packaging that replaces plastic and its recycled plastic, is therefore only the first step of a more ambitious project.
Other companies, like Apple and Microsoft, also have programs to incorporate more recycled materials into their devices.
This is once once more a step in the right direction, but it should not remain unique. Other actions must be taken to green the tech industry, starting with the manufacturing ofeasy-to-repair devices and longer life.
>> To read also: Repairability: uneven clues
