Press release: ‘Touchscreen crisis looms if tech giants don’t pay up’ says MP

Llanelli’s MP Nia Griffith is demanding that big tech companies pay for recycling to stop us running out of rare metals that are vital for smartphones and pace-makers.

Ms Griffith explained, “I was shocked to find out that we could  run out of the rare metals used in smartphones by the end of the century. But, at the moment, for all the best efforts of the public to recycle phones, we do not even have enough specialist centres to extract and reuse these critical components.

“There are metals like tantalum which is used in hearing aids and pacemakers as well as smart phones, and indium which is used both for touchscreens and solar panels, which we are going to need a lot more of as we switch to renewable energy.

“We need proper centres where they extract the metals for re-use, and the tech giants should pay for them. After all, they are ones making huge profits and constantly pushing us to ditch our phones for a new model. I dare say they make more profit by using raw materials than extracting and re-using the old, but we cannot let their greed put vital medical equipment at risk.

“On the principle of the polluter pays, we expect other manufacturers to take back items like old fridges, so let’s get the tech giants to do their bit. But we need strong government action to make them. That’s why I have written to the Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers demanding that the UK Government get on the front foot in sorting this out.

“Once the specialist recycling centres are set up, they need to be certified, and councils should then be obliged to send the phones to certified centres… only then will members of the public be confident that the electronic devices they hand in will be fully recycled, and help conserve rare metals for future generations.”