Motorola plans to launch a new ‘Green Phone’, the W233 Renew, which is mostly recyclable. It’s believed to be “environmentally responsible” with a 100% recyclable corrugated box.

Reports indicate the housing is made of plastics that contain ‘recycled water bottles’, which we believe to mean the same material recycled water bottles are made of, typically a polymer called polyethylene terephthalate (PETE). This will be identified by a specific code, the number ‘1’ inside the familiar, arrow-triangle emblem. This is the same symbol as that found on ketchup bottles and soft drink containers.

On the mobile phone itself is the poly carbonate symbol "PC<" which has the identification code ‘7’, and is the plastic of choice for most mobile phones as it is strong and shatter-resistant.

Motorola’s new Renew is based on the W230 model, which has similar dimensions and features. Both work in dual-band SKY77517 from Skyworks, with similar display, size, shape and composition. Based on this it is likely that the new model will also be about 65 percent recyclable. There are minor improvements including reduced and simplified packaging, which yields real recycling benefits. Motorola is successfully converting an existing design to be a more user and environmentally friendly product, which does not require further modifications.

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