14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung held a press event at MWC 2017, during which the company introduced two new tablets and released the first official teaser video of the Galaxy S8. But during the presentation, a Greenpeace protestor stood at the foot of the stage and held up a sign.
The sign featured a simple message containing the recycle symbol and the words “re-think, reuse, recycle.” The phrase “it’s simple” was written in the middle of the triangle, together with Samsung’s logo and #GalaxyNote7.
Samsung’s executive then said “I think you’ve made your point” to the protester and continued the conference without any other interruption. But he wasn’t the only Greenpeace protester at Samsung’s event. Two other people held up similar signs on top of the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona, where Samsung’s event was hosted.
Samsung released a statement regarding the incident
A Samsung representative confiscated the sign, but protestors pulled out another similar one just afterward. After they were escorted away, two more people rappelled down an even bigger sign that covered part of the building.
Samsung responded to the incident, releasing a statement to CNBC saying that it “prioritized a safe and environmentally friendly process for disposing of devices. We are committed to working closely with regulatory bodies, as well as carrier partners, to ensure a responsible disposal plan for our devices.”
There have been rumors that Samsung might refurbish Galaxy Note 7 units and replace their problematic batteries with new ones. Reports have said that the phones would be sold in emerging countries like India and Vietnam, but Samsung’s representative in the former country denied the rumors quickly.
Greenpeace has been critical of Samsung in the past few months, and urged the company last year to develop a plan to reuse, refurbish and resell the phones. Smartphones do contain various materials that can be dangerous for the environment, if they’re not properly disposed of.