The French telephony company Orange has announced that it is starting the collection of old mobile telephones and used phone batteries on Mauritius which will be sent abroad for recycling.
In its release issued here, Orange said the project is in partnership with the NGO Green Mission and the local Rotary Club.
The communiqué added that Orange has set up collection centers in 15 of its shops spread over the island. The telephones and batteries will be broken up and then sent abroad to specialized companies for recycling.
The release said that in 2008 only 175,000 mobile phones and 25 million batteries were imported into the island and that presently 1 million mobile phones are in circulation for a population of 1.2 million.
For his part Cyprien Matheos, Chief Financial Officer of the Mauritius Telecom (MT) which is now managed by Orange, indicated that Mauritians have the habit of changing their mobile phones each 2 or 3 years.
These phones are, after some time, thrown in the dustbins. These contain polluting elements including heavy metals that constitute a threat to the environment if not treated, he pointed out.
Also Matheos declared that the old phones and batteries will be stocked at the MT collection centre in the outskirts of Port Louis until a sufficient quantity has been collected.
They will then be dismantled and the plastic and metals will be recycled locally, he added.
The electronic circuits and the batteries will be sent to the French recycling company CITRON in the French port of Le Havre and to the ESG Company in Germany, he concluded.
Source African Press Agency
