Earth Today | What if a used smartphone could become part of a brand-new device?

EVERY YEAR, around 200 tonnes of discarded battery material are collected from electronics manufacturing facilities in Vietnam.

In countries with advanced recycling infrastructure, much of this waste could be reused – powering everything from electric vehicles to next-generation devices, according to Samsung Electronics.

But until recently, Vietnam lacked the capacity to repurpose these materials effectively. That is changing.

“What if a used smartphone could become part of a brand-new device? It used to be just an idea, but now it’s a reality, thanks to Samsung Electronics’ Battery Circular Supply Chain, an initiative that recovers and reuses key materials from used Galaxy smartphone batteries. With the Galaxy S25, this closed-loop recycling technology has been applied for the first time to Samsung’s flagship line,” noted a recent release from the company.

The recycling initiative collects battery material from multiple points across the production chain – including defective units and trade-in devices shipped from global markets. The recovered components are processed and refined to meet industry standards, and then reused to manufacture new batteries.

Experts say this kind of circular supply chain could represent a blueprint for future electronics production, reducing dependency on virgin mining while significantly lowering carbon emissions.

“It’s a model of sustainable manufacturing that other players in the sector can learn from,” explained Youngmin Kim, head of Samsung’s Circular Economy Lab.

As the global electronics industry confronts mounting pressure to reduce its environmental impact, innovations such as these signal a shift toward more responsible production models – and a future where yesterday’s smartphone could help build tomorrow’s.

NATURE OF COBALT

Cobalt is essential for maintaining the stability and performance of lithium-ion batteries in smartphones. While lithium transports electrons within the battery, cobalt facilitates the movement of lithium to ensure optimal performance.

“Cobalt does not degrade with battery use, meaning that it can theoretically be recycled indefinitely. In essence, Galaxy devices containing cobalt can be recycled and reused regardless of their date of manufacture,” the release said.

The key to extracting high-purity cobalt, according to Kim, lies in technology.

“Through our Circular Battery Supply Chain, we have been able to recover and utilise more than 90 per cent of the cobalt from the discarded batteries we have collected,” Kim said.

Half of the cobalt used in the Galaxy S25 batteries comes from recycled sources, which, Samsung maintains, is a strong testament to its environmental strategy and its commitment to “reducing its environmental impact while maintaining the premium quality of its products”.