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We’ve come a long way since the first Blackberry phones were launched in 2002, when Nokia dominated the cellphone market. Last year, smartphone have surpassed feature phone sales around the globe, and with that, changed millions of lives. From waking us up in the morning, to entertaining us on our commute, and keeping us in touch with our loved ones, smartphones have become indispensable.
While it is clear that smartphones do more than simpler feature phones, are they also more environmentally friendly?
We decided to take a look at two of the most popular smartphones on the market today: The iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. We’ll compare both smartphones to the world’s most popular feature phone: The Nokia 1100.
Our methodology will review the main components of each phone based on publicly available data. Let’s see what the phones are made of:
| iPhone 6 |
Galaxy S5 |
Nokia 1100 | |
| Battery | Non-hazardous, recyclable Li-ion | ||
| Display |
4.7 inch LCD |
5.1 inch AMOLED |
1.1 inch LCD |
| Screen |
Recyclable glass |
Recyclable glass |
Recyclable plastic |
| Body | Recyclable aluminum | Recyclable plastic | Recyclable plastic |
| Circuit board | Includes hazardous elements like lead, arsenic, and mercury |
The battery
Li
All three phones in our selection use a lithium-ion battery with different capacities. The Galaxy S5 has the largest battery, followed by the iPhone 6, and the Nokia 1100.
Unlike other batteries, Li-ion batteries are non-toxic, 100% recyclable and are even considered safe for incinerators and landfills. However, due to the higher cost of recycling Li-ion batteries relative to the mining and production of new material, little to none of our Li-ion batteries are ever recycled.
Where and how is Lithium produced? The world’s largest Lithium mines are currently found in Chile. While Lithium’s extraction process is less impactful than other mining operations around the world, it does impact local populations’ lives: Chile’s Lithium mines have taken water away from local communities in regions that are already arid. With the production of Lithium expected to rise exponentially in the coming years, especially with the rapid increase in the number of hybrid and electric cars built, lithium extraction will increasingly have an impact on the environment.
The Verdict: All phones win. To our surprise, Li-ion batteries are non-hazardous and non-toxic, but developing an economically viable recycling process needs to be prioritized.
The Display
LCD
Most smartphones displays today rely on Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD) technology. Invented by George H. Heilmeier in the 1960’s at RCA, it wasn’t until late 2007 that LCDs became prominent, beating CRTs in the sales of televisions.
In the iPhone 6, an In-plane Switching (IPS) type of LCDs are used, which provides a wider viewing angle than more traditional twisted nematic field effect (TN) LCDs as used in the monochrome black & white LCD display of the Nokia 1100. In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S5 uses an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, which allows for higher contrast that the IPS LCD used in the iPhone 6.
While there isn’t a lot of research on the environmental impact of AMOLED displays, LCDs are known to have significant effects on the environment during its manufacturing as detailed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s life-cycle assessment of LCDs. According to the EPA, “Sulfur hexafluoride used in the LCD module manufacturing process contributed 29 percent of the global warming potential of LCDs,” with the remaining impact on global warming attributed to carbon dioxide released while producing electricity during manufacturing.
The Verdict: No winner. All three phones’ displays contribute to global warming during manufacturing.
The screen
Glass
Both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 have glass screens, while the Nokia 1100 has a plastic screen.
A popular type of glass in the design of smartphones today is the Gorilla Glass made by Corning, with high scratch resistance and hardness. Both iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5 phones use similar glass. Although glass can be recycled, its manufacturing can have significant environmental impact with the production of NOx and SOx air pollutants from gas furnaces.
On the other hand, plastic used for the Nokia 1100’s screen requires hydrocarbon materials beyond energy generation. Plastic also has negative health effects as the human body absorbs chemicals used in its manufacturing. This is especially concerning considering how often a phone’s screen touches our face. Yet just like glass, plastic can be easily recycled.
The Verdict: iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5 are winners. While both glass and plastic screens can be recycled, the negative health effects from frequent contact with plastic makes the Nokia 1100 the loser in this case.
The casing
Al
While the iPhone 6 has an aluminum body, the Galaxy S5 and Nokia 1100 share plastic based cases. The manufacturing processes of both aluminum and plastic have significant environmental impacts. It is however important to note that plastic objects can be molded without wasting much raw material, while aluminum manufacturing needs machines to cut away material, wasting slightly more raw material. Of course the aluminum waste can be recycled, but that also requires additional energy. So from a purely manufacturing standpoint, plastic cases are less wasteful.
From a health standpoint, aluminum is nontoxic while different types of plastic have been linked to different health risks.
The Verdict: iPhone 6 comes on top. While aluminum machining performed on the iPhone 6 may be slightly more wasteful than plastic molding performed for the Galaxy S5 and Nokia 1100, aluminum does not have the health risks that plastic poses.
The Circuit Board
PCB
We did not dissect the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S5 to review the internal circuit boards, but it can be assumed that, by composition, they are similar to other printed circuit boards found in electronic devices. This means that they contain a range of highly hazardous material including lead, mercury, and arsenic. Lead is widely used as basic soldering material for most printed circuit boards.
All these metals used in circuit boards make it especially important to properly dispose of your device. A smartphone or any electronic device in the landfill or incinerator is extremely detrimental to the environment.
The Verdict: No winner. Circuit boards are highly toxic and hazardous, and recycling these needs to be a priority no matter what phone you have.
Winner
iPhone 6, by a thin margin.
The iPhone 6 uses less plastic in the exterior design than both the Galaxy S5 and Nokia 1100, minimizing health risks on the user. However, all three phones have negative impacts on the environment during manufacturing and post-life. Let’s see how to minimize this impact below.
Cherish your smartphone
To most people, including the author, smartphones have become so essential that removing it from life is unthinkable. So how can we minimize the environmental impact of smartphones?
Keep your current phone
The best thing you can do to help minimize the impact of smartphones on the environment is by extending its lifetime. In turn, you help reduce the number of phones manufactured, and the amount of energy and raw material used. Here are a few tips to help:
- Extend your phone’s battery life: There are many hacks on extending the battery life of your iPhone or Galaxy phone. This helps reduce the number of recharge cycles your phone goes through, which ensures that your battery can hold long charges even after years of usage.
- Use a protective case: We have all dropped our phones at least once, so invest in a case and screen protector to reduce the risk of damage when accidents happen.
- And of course, try to avoid accidents by treating your phone like a baby.
Trade it
If you’re giving in to the latest ads or have justified the ROI for a new phone, you can reduce your environmental impact by trading your old device.
- Sell it: eBay and Craigslist are great marketplaces to fetch top $ for your second hand phones.
- Give it: Rather than letting it sit in the drawer, do you have a family member or friend that could use a phone?
- Trade it: Your carrier (e.g. AT&T, Verizon) may have a trade-in program that gives your credit or $ for your old phone. Apple even has its own program.
Don’t throw your phone in the bin. Recycle.
Whatever you do, avoid throwing your phone in the garbage. Even if certain components, including the glass screen and Li-ion battery, are recyclable and non-hazardous, the phone as a whole contains many toxic elements that are very detrimental to the environment when incinerated or buried in landfills. This is especially sad considering that only 15%-20% of electronics are recycled today.
What we’ve found useful is to create an electronic recycling box at the office and at home to gather all battery, printer cartridge and other electronic wastes like smartphones together and make the trip once every few months. You can find a recycling location on the EPA side or via a simple google search – many retailers including AT&T, Verizon, and Best Buy operate recycling programs.
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