Samsung To Recover 157 Tons of Rare Earth Metals From Recalled Galaxy Note 7 Devices
Staying true to its promise made in March, Samsung will recycle parts from then recalled exploding Note 7 devices . Sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 were suspended last year, due to the poorly manufactured batteries. As stated in the reports released in March, Samsung has recently released refurbished Galaxy Note 7 FE in Korea. Even with all the refurbished handsets for sale, Samsung will still be left with the heaps of devices to recycle.
Samsung will kick start its phone recycling process this month and is expected to recover 157 tonnes of rare metals like gold, cobalt and copper. Samsung also plans on utilising the existing parts like OLED display modules, memory chips, and camera modules from the unsold refurbished handsets as replacement parts for repairs. New reports have surfaced stating that Samsung might pair with local (in Korea) and international companies for the recycling initiative, though the names of the companies have not been disclosed.
Samsung’s Note 7’s failure cost the company a loss of US $5.4 billion. Though the rare materials like gold, cobalt and copper from salvaging the scraped Note 7 might not be enough to cover the losses, it will still offers some respite, to Samsung and to the environment. In a recent statement made by Samsung, the company has “actively lead the industry in terms of environmental protection and resource recycling.” and is working on discovering new ways to recycle materials from the products in an environmental friendly manner. Apple, amongst many others have followed the lead to recycle and reduce their impact on the planet by figuring out a way to use only renewable materials in its products. And while Apple’s Robot Liam helps them deal with the reduction of the company’s footprint, Samsung’s Note 7 recall has offset the company’s carbon footprint for the worse.
While Samsung’s Note 7 recycling efforts will be appreciated, it seems that the company has timed the announcement just around the soon to be launched Galaxy Note 8, being one of the crucial launches for the company. Good PR we’d say !
