Samsung aims to use 100 pct recycled plastics in all its mobile phones by 2050

All News 14:04 February 13, 2023

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it aims to broaden the use of eco-conscious materials to all its smartphone products in the coming years.

The world's largest smartphone maker said it plans to use recycled plastic materials in all its new flagship Galaxy smartphones and stop using plastics in packaging by 2025.

It also aims to use 100 percent recycled plastic parts in all of its smartphone products by 2050.

"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," Park Sung-sun, executive vice president and head of the Mechanical R&D Team of Samsung's Mobile eXperience division, said during the press briefing in Seoul earlier in the day.

"We think it can have small but meaningful reverberations to each customer," he added.

This photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. shows recycled components inside the Galaxy S23 Ultra. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

In early February, Samsung launched new Galaxy S flagship smartphones in three models -- Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and the luxury model Galaxy S23 Ultra.

To further its sustainability efforts, Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra uses 12 internal and external components made from eco-conscious materials, up from six in its predecessor.

The Galaxy S23 and Plus model use 11 such components each.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra uses recycled plastics from discarded PET bottles in the back glass and front case, and recycled aluminum in the side key, volume key and SIM tray.

The luxury model also uses front and back glass that contains an average of 22 percent of recycled content, according to the tech giant.

Samsung said the use of recycled ocean-bound plastics in the new flagship series could prevent more than 15 tons of discarded fishing nets from polluting the oceans by 2023.

Samsung has been working jointly with partners to increase the recycling of rare materials such as gold and cobalt, Park said.

"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," he added.