A modular phone maker receives significant new capital, and an investment manager advises shareholders to push companies away from exporting e-scrap.
Big backing: Fairphone, a European manufacturer of modular mobile devices, has received $7.7 million in new investment. Techcrunch writes that the company will use the money to scale up production of modular phones, which allow for easier upgrades of features and replacement of broken components.
Money talks: Investors hold a great deal of influence over the companies they fund, and one expert is calling for investors to guide electronics manufacturers into designing products with a greater emphasis on repair and recycling. In an opinion piece for BusinessGreen, Mike Appleby advises investors to hold companies to higher standards by securing commitments to not export material to developing countries and ensuring it’s enforced throughout their supply chain.
Environmental clean-up: Informal e-scrap processing is widespread in the West Bank, and a researcher is working to clean up contaminated soil that’s been left behind after material is burned. CBC News describes efforts to address environmental problems at the West Bank’s 700-plus informal processing operations.
Fee levied: Officials in Berkeley County, W.Va. have implemented a new fee for recycling electronic devices that include screens. The Herald and Mail reports the fee is an effort to allow the recycling program to break even and aims to give it flexibility in the midst of fluctuating commodity prices.
