Samsung Launches Eco-Friendly Products, Galaxy S 2022 Made From Marine Net Waste

JAKARTA - When Samsung announces its new product Galaxy S 2022 on Wednesday 9 February, the phone it launches will partly be made from new, more sustainable materials. On Sunday, February 6, Samsung said it had started using marine plastic made from discarded fishing nets in its newest devices.

Samsung said it will incorporate environmentally friendly materials from these waste materials, first into the Galaxy S product, which will be announced next week. But in the future all Samsung products will eventually use this material in their entire line of devices.

During this time people tend to think of plastic bottles and grocery bags as the main cause of marine debris such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But microplastics and their used nets are of greatest concern to marine biologists.

Abandoned fishing gear leads to ghost fishing, a phenomenon in which the gear continues to trap and kill marine life, including endangered species such as the Hawaiian monk seal. With more than 640,000 tonnes of fishing nets being disposed of every year, this problem is getting worse.

Samsung isn't the first company to dump discarded trash on its devices. Last year, Microsoft announced the Marine Plastic Mouse. It features a shell made of 20 percent recovered plastic.

Like Microsoft, Samsung is positioning its use of ocean-bound plastic as part of a larger sustainability drive. In 2019, under pressure from consumers and environmentalists, the company said it would start using more sustainable materials in its device packaging.