Why Note 7 fiasco is a green light for Samsung on handling e-waste
Edwin Lau says the company could display corporate responsibility and win hearts by offering to carry out safe recycling worldwide for the millions of handsets to be recalled
This incident raises three issues worthy of attention and follow-up:
First, how will Samsung ensure that such a large number of used and unsold phones (around 2.5 million) are recovered from individual customers and retailers? Absolute transparency is required of Samsung, and so it should make public the result of the recall in different cities from time to time.
Second, what is to happen to the recalled phones? Will Samsung take steps to ensure they are recycled in proper waste electrical and electronic equipment facilities to extract useful materials and deal safely with any harmful substances in the phones?
