Samsung seems to be on a roll this week and this time the news revolves around the “blazing” Note 7. The Note 7 never really officially launched in India thanks to the battery-exploding debacle the Korean company faced in the recent past.  The company had to recall millions of phones and many considered whether Samsung should have sold the phone in the first place.

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In a recent statement, the company is planning to recycle the Note 7 where they will be salvaging expensive components such as semiconductors, camera modules and extract metal components with the help of eco-friendly companies. This is a direct conflict to what Samsung had said last year where they claimed they would dispose of all Note 7 devices and would not re-sell them as refurbished phones.

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Samsung faced immense pressure from Greenpeace and other environmental organisations due to which this decision was taken. The company has specified how many numbers of handsets will be salvaged and sold to the public.  

Samsung explained in a statement that “Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 devices as refurbished phones or rental phones, applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand. The markets and release dates will be determined accordingly.

For remaining Galaxy Note 7 devices, components such as semiconductors and camera modules shall be detached by companies specialising in such services and used for test sample production purposes.

Finally, for left over component recycling, Samsung shall first extract precious metals, such as copper, nickel, gold and silver by utilising eco-friendly companies specialising in such processes.”

Greenpeace wrote in a blog post “Samsung’s announcement is the first step to show its effort to set a new path for recycling smartphones starting with Note 7s, Greenpeace will make sure Samsung takes into account the voice of millions of our supporters and abides by its commitment.”

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Samsung might have been busy salvaging the Note 7, however, do not expect the company to attempt a major launch, especially when the Galaxy S8 is on the horizon. The company is also expected to launch the Note 8 sometime this fall and Samsung would not want a relaunch to serve as a distraction.