Zambian officials who have confiscated thousands of fake mobile phones are left scratching their heads about what to do next with the devices, owing to the country’s lack of recycling facilities.

Chabala Kaunda, Samsung Zambia’s country manager, says the number of Zambians who own mobile phones has more than doubled over the years, jumping from 500,000 in 2005 to almost 6 million in 2012.

And as demand for mobile phones has surged, the number of counterfeit devices in the country has also dramatically increased.

Last month, Samsung and Zambian police said they seized 2 600 fake mobile phones valued at more than $1.5 million.

But despite the successful work of police, officials are left dumbfounded about what to do next with the devices.

“Suspects get arrested and charged for selling fake devices,” says the Zambian police commissioner, Solomon Jere.

“However, our main concern remains what to do with the counterfeit products once they have been seized,” he adds.

Zambian police have shown ITWeb Africa hundreds of seized counterfeit phones being kept at a holding facility.

According to industry electronic waste experts, each country has its own set of rules and regulations regarding how to dispose of counterfeit electronic products. And if there are no guidelines, a country has to look to neighbouring countries for assistance.

“The norm is that fake goods must be destroyed so that they don’t go back to the market to be sold again as that would defeat the purpose,” Keith Anderson, chairman, eWaste Association of South Africa (eWASA), has told ITWeb Africa.

“And if a country decides to follow the destruction route it should be done in an environmentally responsible manner, in the form of a recycling unit,” he adds.

African countries such as Zambia, though, lack recycling mechanisms to destroy electronic waste products, introducing the risk that these goods could end up on the market again or as electronic waste in landfills.

Presently, Zambia does have operational recycling units with the most prominent being the Lusaka-based Central Recycling Company, which specialises in metal recycling. But when ITWeb Africa contacted the company, a representative said the organisation has not been approached by either police or Samsung to recycle seized fake phones.

Efforts to contact other recycling companies in Zambia did not yield success, as these facilities’ phone numbers either did not work, or calls went unanswered.

Meanwhile, as a result of a lack of recycling efforts in the country, confiscated mobile phones risk endangering the country’s environment.

Sussane Dittke from Envirosense told ITWeb earlier this year that those who dismantle electronic products such as mobile phones potentially expose themselves to poisonous chemicals such as mercury and lead.

But with a lack of recycling facilities to deal with the fake products, experts say that the best way to deal with the devices in a country such as Zambia may be to stem the problem at its source instead.

Anderson has told ITWeb Africa that the best way to handle counterfeit goods is at customs. Control needs to start at the point of entry of a country, as that is where fake goods should be stopped from entering the country.

Kingsley Nkonde, an Intellectual Property specialist, agrees.

“Mobile phones are the easiest counterfeit products to bring into a country.”

“We need to strengthen our border controls,” he concluded.