All T-Centers allow collection and further ecological disposal of old mobile handsets and batteries. Bring your old mobile devices to the T-Center and ensure your proper disposal. Until now, we have disposed of over 152,800 old mobile handsets in an environment-friendly way.
Mobile devices contain components which may have a detrimental impact on the environment if disposed of in an uncontrolled manner. By proper disposal of mobile devices, you will prevent possible detrimental impacts on the environment and human health.
According to estimates, 30 to 45 tons of e-waste are thrown away every year in Croatia (old household appliances, TV sets, computers, mobile handsets, refrigerators and the like). On an average, each citizen of Croatia disposes of 6,67 to 10,11 kg of e-waste every year, and this quantity is ever increasing, by 10 % per year on average (data from the Waste Management Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, 14 October 2005.)
The mobile handset’s composition will vary depending on the model and on technology development, as production sees continuous introduction of new substances and compounds with new and improved characteristics. Analyses of recently manufactured mobile handsets showed the following composition: the mobile handset is mostly made of various types of plastic (for instance, ABS plastic content is 29%), copper and copper component content is about 15 % on average, iron about 3 %, while 1 % are elements such as nickel and nickel compounds, zinc and zinc compounds , silver and silver compounds, aluminum, tin, lead, gold, manganese etc. Approx. 1% are flame inhibitors which belong to hazardous materials.
The composition of mobile handsets shows that the devices contain some extremely valuable elements (silver, gold, copper etc.), therefore, ecological disposal of handsets aims to separate these elements so that they may be reused as raw materials. By mobile handset recycling, aluminum, gold, silver, copper, cobalt, nickel and cadmium may be separated, and all these elements may be reused in production.