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Deleting data from old mobile phones is important: EPA

People should be sure to delete their personal data before recycling old mobile phones or optical discs, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said.

The step is crucial to protecting people's privacy and ensuring the information stored in the devices is not misused by criminals, the officials said.

The EPA officially listed mobile phones and optical discs as recyclable in April 2006.

By the end of last year, approximately 2.04 million mobile phones with a total weight of 310,000 tonnes were discarded for recycling, while the number of waste optical discs for recycling amounted to 67 million units with a total weight of 1.11 million tonnes, EPA tallies showed.

The EPA said that in addition to the plastic covers, mobile phone parts made of metals such as copper, gold, silver and palladium can also be reused.

However, as harmful materials such as lead, cadmium and arsenic can also be found in mobile phones, they can pollute the environment and threaten human health if they are dumped in landfills or incinerated, EPA officials said.

Optical discs are mainly made of polycarbonate and plated with precious metals such as gold and silver, which can all be reused, they said.

Meanwhile, with the Lunar New Year approaching, the EPA yesterday also urged the public to refrain from using firecrackers, fireworks or burning incense and paper money.

The administration reminded people that firecrackers and fireworks release large amounts fine (2.5 micrometers or less) or coarse heavy metal pollutant particles (2.5 to 10 micrometers) into the air, such as potassium, aluminum and magnesium, which are hazardous to human health.

Similarly, burning incense and paper money not only poses fire hazards, but the incarceration produces benzene, methyl benzene, and ethyl benzene, the EPA said.

People are advised to pray with only their hands, the administration said.

Those with heart or respiratory conditions are advised to avoid attending events where such activities take place, it said.

Additional reporting by Meggie Lu
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