Japan’s top mobile phone carrier, NTT DoComo Inc, conducted a pilot project early this year to gauge the effectiveness of mobile phone recycling processes. Used phones were collected, sorted and disassembled and the parts were assessed for usefulness. Oil from the plastic outer cases was also extracted, as well as gold and silver slag from the metal components. The aim was to establish a closed-loop recycling system for recycling phones by reusing parts and improving recyclable materials through chemical processing.
