Motorola Unveils Phone Made of Plastic Bottles

The Renew is the first carbon-neutral phone made from recycled plastic bottles. -Motorola

Recently, Motorola released the MOTO™ W233 Renew, the first mobile phone made using plastics from recycled water bottles. The eco-friendly cell debuted at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to Motorola, Renew’s housing is 100 percent recyclable. Also, because of these recycled materials, 20 percent less energy is needed to produce the phone, compared to the standard plastic process.

Not only is the phone made from recycled materials, it is also the first to be carbon-neutral. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The phoneearned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment.

“From the product’s design, to the packaging to our partnership with Carbonfund.org, we wanted to ensure that this device makes the right impact with consumers and the environment,” said Jeremy Dale, corporate vice president, global marketing, Motorola Mobile Devices.

The company also sought to green the phone’s packaging by reducing its size by 22 percent. Additionally, the box and all materials inside are printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. And the pièce de résistance? A postage-paid recycling envelope in the box means it’s easy to return your old mobile phone for free recycling.