More than 5 billion mobile phones, out of the total estimated 16 billion phones possessed worldwide, will likely be discarded or stashed away in 2022, experts said, calling for more recycling of the often hazardous materials they contain.
Many disused phones would rise 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) if stacked flat on each other, more than 100 times higher than the International Space Station, the WEEE research consortium found.
Despite containing valuable gold, copper, silver, palladium and other recyclable components, almost all these unwanted devices will be hoarded, dumped or incinerated, causing significant health and environmental harm.
“Smartphones are one of the electronic products of highest concern for us,” said Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, a not-for-profit association representing forty-six producer responsibility organizations.
“If we don’t recycle the rare materials they contain, we’ll have to mine them in countries like China or Congo,” Leroy said.
Defunct cell phones are just the tip of the 44.48 million-ton iceberg of global electronic waste generated annually that isn’t recycled, according to the 2020 global e-waste monitor.
Many of the five billion phones withdrawn from circulation will be hoarded rather than dumped in the trash, according to a survey in six European countries from June to September 2022.
This happens when households and businesses forget cell phones in drawers, closets, cupboards or garages rather than bringing them in for repair or recycling.
Up to 5 kilograms (8 pounds) of e-devices per person are currently hoarded in the average European family, the report found.
According to the new findings, 46% of the 8,775 households surveyed considered potential future use as the main reason for hoarding small electrical and electronic equipment.
Another 15% stockpile their gadgets with the intention of selling them or giving them away, while 13% keep them due to “sentimental value.”
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