How cell phones are killing gorillas
Imagine that someone comes into your home and tears everything apart. And the only justification they have is that they want to dig a hole in the middle of your living room.
That might seem far-fetched, but this situation has posed a serious threat to the Congo lowland gorilla for decades. Behind it all is the explosive growth in demand for smartphones and laptops, which need high-performance capacitors that contain tantalum. Tantalum is a very rare heavy metal that is extracted from coltan ore, a raw material that is primarily found in the Congo – just beneath the surface of the central African rainforests that are the habitat of the lowland gorillas.
Tantalum is extracted from coltan ore, is the rarest stable element in our entire solar system, and is one of the heaviest metals on Earth. It is used in the microcapacitors that ensure our cell phones recharge rapidly. It is estimated that 80 percent of the world’s coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country is currently experiencing a civil war, and one of the ways that rebel groups are financing their operations is by illegally mining coltan ore. This is causing irreversible and unacceptable damage to humans and nature in the region. Deutsche Telekom does not purchase coltan or tantalum that has been extracted from coltan as a raw material. However, because tantalum is found in a wide range of products that we sell or use, Deutsche Telekom is committed to utilizing the means at its disposal to minimize and ultimately completely stop all the damage that tantalum extraction is causing to people and the environment.
However, with demand for this raw material constantly growing, more and more is having to be dug out and mines are eating their way through the rainforests. From an economic perspective, these are lucrative operations, since every kilo of the raw material can fetch up to 600 dollars, according to German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. From an ecological perspective, however, it is a catastrophe. The rainforests growing on top of the coltan deposits are hacked down to allow mining, and the habitat of many animals – some of which are threatened with extinction, like the lowland gorilla – is destroyed. The gorillas don’t get the chance to move to new territory, and their numbers have dropped dramatically in recent years. These animals, which have a primarily vegetarian diet, play a crucial role in the forest’s ecosystem, acting as “seed taxis”. They are the “gardeners of the rainforest” and support the regeneration of the jungle and the survival of many species. However, due to our rampant consumption of smartphones and laptops, they are increasingly ending up as “bushmeat” for mine workers. Living on the forest floor, the gorillas are easy prey for poachers, who sell their meat to the miners.
Our smartphones are stained with blood.
Very few of us realize that the blood of many African people – even children – goes into the production of our smartphones. The mines are full of people who are destitute, working for minimal pay of between one and three dollars a day. Many of them use their earnings to pay off debts that they can never clear for loans that they have taken out from rebels so they can feed their families. They are risking their health and even their lives. According to reports from German-based environmental organization “Berggorilla und Regenwald Direkthilfe” (Direct Aid for Mountain Gorillas and Rainforests – B&RD), every year, hundreds of people are buried alive when unsupported mineshafts collapse, or are suffocated by the exhaust fumes from diesel-powered water pumps. They hand over 10 to 15 percent of what they bring to the surface as a “tax” to the rebels or Congolese army, who control most of the countless mines. What’s more, they are often attacked and robbed as they make their way on foot along the lengthy tracks to the ore handover points.
A study by human rights organization “The Enough Project” found that armed militias in the Congo earn up to 225 million U.S. dollars this way every year. The rebels utilize this money to finance a steady stream of new weapons that they use to threaten the general population. It is estimated that 50,000 of the people working in the mines are children. According to B&RD, girls and women are often forced into prostitution.
One thing we can do is get our old, discarded cell phones out of the drawer and back into circulation.
The only other solution is to be more sustainable in the way we use our devices. We can use our devices for longer, instead of buying a new cell phone or laptop every year. We can also get our old devices back into circulation. In particular, we can recover valuable metals such as gold and silver by recycling very old cell phones – and there are still 200 million of those lying around in drawers in Germany alone. That way, there is less need to dig out fresh supplies under conditions that can be brutal for workers and destructive for the environment.
Unfortunately, at the moment, it is extremely difficult to recover tantalum from old cell phones. However, the more people recycle their devices, the greater the incentive there is to tackle the technically difficult task of recovering tantalum from them. Consumers who retrieve devices that are languishing in drawers and take them for recycling are therefore doing two good deeds – helping to protect the rainforests of central Africa and contributing to the survival of the gorillas. In many countries, Deutsche Telekom will accept cell phones at its shops, ensure they are properly refurbished, and put the devices back into circulation if possible. If that is not an option, Deutsche Telekom ensures they are recycled appropriately. “Gorillas are one of our closest relatives, and we have a duty to protect them from extinction,” says Philipp Göltenboth from WWF Germany.
According to Fairphone, conflict metals are equivalent to the blood diamonds of Sierra Leone. Gold is also still extracted under sometimes brutal conditions in Congo and then put on the global market. Fairphones contain certified gold and clean tin, and steps are taken to ensure all the tantalum in the devices is also conflict-free. Fairphone can control this more easily because the Dutch company only manufactures a small number of smartphones. Apple is also addressing the problem and in 2021 stopped working with a further 12 suppliers that were unwilling to submit to checks or that had demonstrably contravened its code of conduct.
I want to do more
If you want to ensure your cell phone is not playing a part in flattening any rainforests or forcing anyone into slavery, then the best option is to make your next device a used cell phone, such as one that has been refurbished by Deutsche Telekom in Germany (Reuse my Mobile). That way, you know that no new metals have been mined for it. Maximize your smartphone’s useful life. To prolong the life of your battery, for example, keep it charged between 40 and 80 percent at all times. Protect your cell phone with a plastic-free case from agood. A Fairphone is especially helpful. For example, if its battery is worn out or the display fails, you can very easily buy replacement parts at a good price, so you don’t need to buy a whole new cell phone.