GSMA analysts have estimated that around 5 billion smartphones worldwide are “laying around” and need to be recycled. If the devices are recycled, the microelectronics industry will receive about 50 thousand tons of copper, 500 tons of silver, 100 tons of gold and other precious metals.
The international trade organization GSMA has estimated that 5 billion pieces of smartphones are “thrown away” with their users and need to be recycled.
After processing so many smartphones, the microelectronics industry, which is in dire need of raw materials for production, could receive 50 thousand tons of copper, 500 tons of silver, 100 tons of gold and other precious metals. For example, cobalt would be enough to produce batteries for 10 million electric vehicles.
The GSMA has called for the accelerated development of a recycling strategy for used devices. 12 large mobile operators, such as Orange, Globe Telecom, Tele2 and others, have joined the organization’s proposal. However, all the companies that have joined the initiative are absent from the largest markets: China, India and the US.
Author:
Kirill Bilyk
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
