Increasing activity in the digital world means more demand for top-of-the-line hardware to support online services, ranging from work to play and entertainment. Although Emiratis are willing to stick to old smartphones and devices after facing uncertainty during the pandemic, more and more handsets are being disposed of every year.

The global phone market is evolving at a tremendous pace, and as consumers rush to grab the latest piece of tech in the market, e-waste is piling up faster than ever before. But as sustainable living becomes a priority for consumers, global smartphone giant Samsung has launched an initiative that gets rid of electronic trash in an eco-friendly way.

As part of a partnership with UAE-based Enviroserve, the South Korean brand has started collecting handsets from Emiratis to be processed at world's largest e-waste recycling plant in Dubai. For encouraging maximum number of users to embrace the green push as they enter a connected future, Samsung is accepting phones from all brands.

Following the collection drive, old devices will be sent into machines which reduces gadgets to granules for recovering materials including aluminium, copper and iron. Even valuable components like silver, gold and palladium can be set aside to be reused.

The campaign is ultimately meant to block the flow of pollutants in phone batteries and plastic into landfills.

Being in the position of an evolving smart city, Dubai is turning into a hub for responsible consumption and sustainability, riding on renewable energy as well as waste management. The city which is home to a massive e-waste processing facility, has also developed a plant to convert trash into energy.

At a time when 80% of e-waste ends up inside landfills, even young minds in Dubai are at work to address the issue. This was visible when a Dubai-based teenager managed to collect 25 tons of old gadgets through a social media campaign, for recycling.