Bahrain's mobile phone users can swap their broken and irreparable handsets for a chance to win new ones as part of an initiative combating e-waste.

The National Mobile Phone and e-Waste Recycling Campaign is being offered by telecom company Zain Bahrain in association with Enviroserve.

It is part of the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign, said general manager Mohammed Zainalabedin.

"We are targeting practically every one in Bahrain," Zainalabedin yesterday told a Press conference at the Zain group headquarters in Seef.

"Most, if not all, have at least one mobile handset they do not use and which, sooner or later, would be thrown into the bin.

"We want them to bring that handset to us and get a coupon in return for a chance to win a new handset."

He said the old handsets collected in this way would go to a 'refinery' in Singapore to be completely re-cycled.

"The mobile phone contains several hazardous chemicals, including zinc, barium and mercury," said Zainalabedin.

"One phone, if improperly discarded, is capable of polluting 600,000 litres of water.

"So we can imagine what the cost on the environment could be, with hundreds of thousands of phones discarded every year," he added.

Zainalabedin said they believed it was time to provide a solution for the e-waste concern.

"We have made this an interactive CSR initiative by offering participants a raffle ticket to enter our draw and win a new handset from Zain Bahrain," said Zainalabedin.

"The biggest bonus is that the discarded handset will be disposed of in a responsible manner that is environmentally safe."

Enviroserve chief executive officer Stuart Fleming said his company focused on providing innovative and sustainable waste management solutions.

These include integrated waste management, cleaner production, waste minimisation, process solutions as alternatives to landfill and innovative treatment and disposal options.

"We will collect all these phones and take them to a 'phone refinery' in Singapore where they will be crushed and recycled," he said.

"All dangerous chemicals will be separated and re-used."

He said initially they would collect only mobile phones but later move on to collecting other e-waste items like computer screens, keyboards and printers.

Zain Bahrain corporate communications manager Samya Hussein said the campaign had been created to help every resident help the environment and support the movement for a cleaner, greener Bahrain. Handsets can be dropped off at any Zain shop in Bahrain from today.-TradeArabia News Service