E-waste: Guess how many phones will be thrown away this year worldwide
Less than 20% is recycled
The International Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment forum estimates that in 2022, more than 5.3 billion mobile phones will be thrown away without being recycled, adding to the problem of e-waste. But aside from the issue of waste, not recycling it means that the valuable minerals they contain, such as the copper of the cables or the cobalt of the batteries, will not be reused and will have to be mined from the ground again.
People do not understand that seemingly insignificant objects have enormous value and on a global level they constitute a huge volume.
It is estimated that there are 16 billion mobile phones in the world and in Europe almost 1/3 of them are no longer in use.
These devices offer many important elements that can be used in the production of new electronic devices as well as devices such as wind turbines, electric car batteries and solar panels, all critical to the green, digital transition to low-carbon societies.
The forum estimates that the “mountains” of electrical and electronic devices – from washing machines and toasters to tablets and GPS devices – will reach 74 million tons a year by 2030. Unfortunately, only 17% of e-waste worldwide is properly recycled.
In the UK it is estimated that there are over one million functional but unused electrical appliances, worth £5.63 billion. It is also estimated that if the average household in the country sold the tech items they keep but don’t use, they could make £200.
Providing recycling stations in supermarkets, collecting small, broken devices with the delivery of new ones, and offering small boxes for returning e-waste are some of the initiatives that could encourage the return of these items.
