Why don't we recycle our old phones?

为何我们不回收旧手机呢?

Round Table China

2025-06-04

28 分钟
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单集简介 ...

We sleep with it, eat with it, panic if it goes missing for even five minutes. Let's face it—our smartphones are practically family. But the moment a shiny new model arrives? The old one gets ghosted, tossed in a drawer to gather dust. Love at first swipe, forgotten at first upgrade. So why is it so hard to recycle our old friend? On the show: Heyang, Steve Hatherly & Yushun
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单集文稿 ...

  • Discussion keeps the world turning.

  • This is Roundtable.

  • We sleep with it, eat with it, freak out if it goes missing for five minutes.

  • Yep.

  • Your smartphones are practically family these days.

  • But once the bright, shiny new one arrives,

  • the old phone gets ghosted, dumped into a drawer to collect dust.

  • Love at first swipe, ghosted at first upgrade.

  • Why the Cold Goodbye?

  • And more importantly, can old phones get a second shot at life?

  • Of course they can.

  • But why is it so difficult?

  • Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable.

  • I'm He Yang.

  • For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yu Shun in the studio.

  • First on today's show.

  • Your smartphone knows you better than your best friend.

  • From birthday reminders to breakup playlists, your old phone has been there.

  • But once a shinier model comes along, it's benched forever.

  • With an estimated 6 billion idle mobile phones in China from 2021 to 2025,