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Back in March ItNewsAfrica reported on a Nokia program that would begin recycling mobile devices in East Africa…

Nokia has launched a recycling initiative in East Africa that offers consumers a structured way to dispose of old mobile phones and accessories. The move comes amid fears that cast-off mobile phones are posing an increasing risk of hazardous toxic chemicals in the developing world.

Consumers can drop off old mobile phones, including handsets from other manufacturers, at designated Nokia centers in the region. The devices will be sent to recyclers in Europe for processing. Nokia customer care manager for East Africa, Nicholas Maina, said this week that the initiative would enhance safe disposal of gadgets.

The East Africa region includes Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia and Tanzania.

No money will be given to people as an incentive to return the old phones, and Nokia is only providing an infrastructure to ensure that disposal is properly done.The initiative by Nokia comes at a time when many countries in Africa are becoming more concerned about lack of proper handling of electronic waste.

About the Author: Jonathan Gosier (Founder) is an American-born software developer, writer and social entrepreneur. He currently lives in Kampala, Uganda where he is working on two fronts: to encourage western businesses and investors to engage African entrepreneurs and to encourage the adoption of computers, programming and use of the internet in the developing regions of Africa. He is a huge advocate for promoting the ways in which a semantic web will benefit emerging economies in the world.

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