Samsung plans to use 100% recycled plastic parts in all of its smartphones by 2050. The company aims to achieve a net-zero plastic footprint in new flagship models by as early as 2025, using recycled plastic materials in all devices. It will also entirely stop using plastic in smartphone packaging over the next couple of years.
Samsung has been the world’s largest smartphone company for the past several years, and it has always led by example. The Korean firm’s products have become more environment-friendly with each passing year. It has also achieved 100% renewable energy in several factories in the US, Europe, and China. All these sustainability efforts have earned the company several awards and recognitions over the years.
With the launch of the Galaxy S22 series last year, Samsung started using discarded fishing nets in some components. Overall, the 2022 flagships used six internal and external components made from eco-conscious materials. The company has now upped that to 12 on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and 11 on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+.
According to the Korean publication Yonhap News Agency, the new Galaxy flagships use recycled plastic from discarded PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles in the back glass and front case, and recycled aluminum in the power key, volume key, and SIM tray. The Galaxy S23 Ultra contains about 22% recycled content on the front and back glass.
Samsung is aiming to achieve a net-zero plastic footprint in its smartphones
If you look at the size of these mobile products, the amount of recycled material that Samsung is using may seem paltry. However, the Korean behemoth makes close to 300 million smartphones every year. So it totals up to a considerable amount. Once the company archives its 100% recycled plastic target, the impact will be pretty huge.
“You might question what impact our campaign can have on the Earth’s environment, but it is quite a considerable amount given Samsung’s vast product portfolio,” the company’s head of the Mechanical R&D Team Park Sung-sun said during a press briefing in South Korea’s capital Seoul earlier today. “We think it can have small but meaningful reverberations to each customer,” he added.
In addition to increasing the use of recycled plastic, Samsung is also reportedly working with various companies to increase the recycling of rare materials such as gold and cobalt. “As we believe the (sustainability) efforts are part of corporate social responsibility, we try to minimize any impact on prices and not to pass price burden onto consumers,” Park said.
2023-02-13 15:04:44