Samsung Expands Eco-Phone Lineup

Samsung has added the E200 Eco to its lineup of phones that feature environmentally-friendly materials and manufacturing processes.

You know the story: every year, consumers around the world buy hundreds of millions of mobile phones (last year the number was probably over a billion), which means that hundreds of millions of old cell phones (dare we say "billion?") get discarded. Some get handed down to new cell phone users, some get recycled responsibly…but many wind up in landfills…and that’s not a good thing, since the plastics in cell phone cases don’t break down, and the phones themselves often contain many toxic materials.

Samsung has been working to come up with more environmentally-friendly phone designs, and at its showcase at the Beijing Olympics took the wraps off the new E200 Eco, a re-christened version of its bare-bones E200 phone make from sustainable materials. The phone features a case made from corn-derived bio-plastic, and is packaged in a non-coated recycled paper box. The phone packs a 1.3 megapixel camera as well as MP3-play functionality.

"We are committed to being an environmentally and socially responsible corporate citizen," said Samsung telecommunications president Geesung Choi, in a statement. "We strive to make more products as green as possible and to proactively set up and expand a phone recycling system."

The E200 Eco should be available in Europe early next month. The phone joins Samsung’s W510 and F268 eco-friendly phones.