Samsung recently announced it will start selling 400,000 refurbished
Galaxy Note 7 devices in South Korea. These are the refurbished models of the
phones that were allegedly 'exploding' and resulted in a global product recall.
The move follows a global Greenpeace campaign demanding the company to not dump
the phones.
Greenpeace's press statement is below.
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Samsung starts selling refurbished Galaxy
Note 7s - Greenpeace statementSeoul, 5 July 2017 - Samsung announced
on 3 July that it will start selling 400,000 refurbished Galaxy Note 7 devices
in South Korea under the name of Galaxy Note FE. The announcement follows the
company’s commitment in March to deal with the 4.3 million Galaxy Note 7
produced and recalled worldwide following battery faults and a global Greenpeace
campaign.
“We welcome the news that Samsung is following up with its
commitment to refurbish the Note 7, instead of wasting tonnes of precious
resources,” said Jude Lee, Global Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.
“Samsung must communicate as soon as possible how the remaining phones will be
recycled and what components will be reused, along with more detailed timelines
on when it will implement all its promises.”
“Samsung needs to clarify
how it will not repeat the mistakes it made with the Galaxy Note 7, maximise
resource efficiency and ultimately make longer lasting products.”
“The
latest Galaxy S8 still fails on repairability compared to other brands. With its
edge to edge glass on the front and back, the phone is prone to breaking, and
its battery is glued to the device, making it difficult to replace.”
“We
know that the recall of 4.3 million Note 7 could have been avoided if the
phone’s design allowed the battery to be more easily removed. We urge Samsung to
design phones that are easier to repair, refurbish, and upgrade.”
In
November Greenpeace launched a global petition which gathered thousands of
signatures worldwide, asking Samsung not to dump the phones and instead
transparently implement a sustainable recycling system. In February Greenpeace
Spain activists crashed Samsung press conference at the Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, asking the company to reuse, recycle and rethink the way the phones
are produced.
Greenpeace East Asia has been urging the tech sector to
rethink its impact on the planet. Last month, Greenpeace and US-based iFixit
conducted an assessment of over 40 best selling smartphones, tablets and laptops
from seventeen top IT companies, including the Galaxy S8, to inform customers on
the repairability of the devices.
Notes to editors:
[1]
According to calculations by Oeko-Institut, a research and consultancy
institution based in Germany, 4.3 million smartphones contain more than 20
metric tonnes of Cobalt, approximately more than 1 tonne of tungsten, 1 tonne of
silver, 100 kilograms of gold and between 20 and 60 kilograms of palladium. More
information on calculations and methodology by the Oeko-Institut available
here.
[2] Greenpeace East Asia and iFixit’s assessment can be found at:
http://www.rethink-it.org/en/Media
contacts:Maria Elena De Matteo, Global Communications Strategist,
Greenpeace East Asia,
+852-55749984,
mariaelen...@greenpeace.orgGreenpeace
International Press Desk,
+31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours),
pressd...@greenpeace.org
--
Tristan Tremschnig
Communications Hub Manager | Asia
Pacific