Sunday, June 22, 2025
  • Login
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result

Smartphone Waste to Constitute Over 30 Percent of World’s Total Mobiles in 2022: Report

by Euro Times
October 13, 2022
in Technology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Home Technology
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


More than five billion of the estimated 16 billion mobile phones possessed worldwide will likely be discarded or stashed away in 2022, experts said Thursday, calling for more recycling of the often hazardous materials they contain. 

Stacked flat on top of each other, that many disused phones would rise 50,000 kilometres, more than a hundred 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 organisations. 

“If we don’t recycle the rare materials they contain, we’ll have to mine them in countries like China or Congo,” Leroy told AFP.

Defunct cellphones 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Many of the five billion phones withdrawn from circulation will be hoarded rather than dumped in the trash, according to a survey in six European countries from June to September 2022.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 five kilos of e-devices per person are currently hoarded in the average European family, the report found.

According to the new findings, 46 percent of the 8,775 households surveyed considered potential future use as the main reason for hoarding small electrical and electronic equipment. 

Another 15 percent stockpile their gadgets with the intention to sell them or giving them away, while 13 percent keep them due to “sentimental value”. 

Societal challenge

“People tend not to realise that all these seemingly insignificant items have a lot of value, and together at a global level represent massive volumes,” said Pascal Leroy.

“But e-waste will never be collected voluntarily because of the high cost. That is why legislation is essential.”

This month the EU parliament passed a new law requiring USB Type-C to be the single charger standard for all new smartphones, tablets and cameras from late 2024.

The move is expected to generate annual savings of at least EUR 200 million (nearly Rs. 1,600 crore) and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year.

According to Kees Balde, Senior Scientific Specialist at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), legislation in Europe has prompted higher e-waste collection rates in the region compared to other parts of the world. 

“At the European level, 50-55 percent of e-waste is collected or recycled,” Balde told AFP. “In low-income countries, our estimates plunge to under 5 percent and sometimes even below 1 percent.”

At the same time, thousands of tons of e-waste are shipped from wealthy nations — including members of the European Union — to developing countries every year, adding to their recycling burden. 

At the receiving end, financial means are often lacking for e-waste to be treated safely: hazardous substances such as mercury and plastic can contaminate soil, pollute water and enter the food chain, as happened near a Ghanaian e-waste dumpsite. 

Research carried out in the west African nation in 2019 by the IPEN and Basel Action Network revealed a level of chlorinated dioxins in hens’ eggs laid near the Agbogbloshie dumpsite, near central Accra, 220 times higher than levels permitted in Europe. 

“We have moved mountains in Europe,” said WEEE Forum director Pascal Leroy. “The challenge now is to transfer knowledge to other parts of the world.”

 


Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Source link

Tags: ConstitutemobilesPercentReportsmartphoneTotalWasteworlds
Previous Post

Infosys Q2 net profit rises 11% to Rs 6,021 cr, raises its FY23 guidance

Next Post

Lucy Letby: police found note saying ‘I killed them on purpose’, court hears | UK news

Related Posts

Instead of paying recurring fees for Adobe Acrobat, own your PDF editing tools for life for

Instead of paying recurring fees for Adobe Acrobat, own your PDF editing tools for life for $30

by DealPost Team
June 22, 2025
0

TL;DR: Get a SwiftDoo PDF Professional lifetime license for Home windows at $29.97 (reg. $129)—you’ll acquire entry to instruments like PDF enhancing, signing...

Chinese company Netease is making an AAA action-adventure game called ‘Blood Message’

Chinese company Netease is making an AAA action-adventure game called ‘Blood Message’

by Mariella Moon
June 21, 2025
0

NetEase, the Chinese language online game firm that revealed Marvel Rivals and Bungie's Future: Rising, has introduced its first single-player...

Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy Watch 7 has returned to its best price to date

Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy Watch 7 has returned to its best price to date

by Brandon Russell
June 21, 2025
0

I jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon a bit late, however now I can’t go a day with out mine. Past...

6 things I always do when setting up a new phone

6 things I always do when setting up a new phone

by Megan Ellis
June 22, 2025
0

Megan Ellis / Android AuthorityI arrange a brand new cellphone pretty typically — whether or not it’s shifting to a...

Huawei unveils a beta version of HarmonyOS 6, making it available to developers, and announces the HarmonyOS Agent Framework to help developers create AI agents (Coco Feng/South China Morning Post)

Huawei unveils a beta version of HarmonyOS 6, making it available to developers, and announces the HarmonyOS Agent Framework to help developers create AI agents (Coco Feng/South China Morning Post)

by Euro Times
June 21, 2025
0

Coco Feng / South China Morning Publish: Huawei unveils a beta model of HarmonyOS 6, making it obtainable to builders,...

Rippling spy says men have been following him, and his wife is afraid

Rippling spy says men have been following him, and his wife is afraid

by Julie Bort
June 21, 2025
0

If changing into a spy appears like an thrilling option to dwell like a le Carré character, let this latest...

Next Post
Lucy Letby: police found note saying ‘I killed them on purpose’, court hears | UK news

Lucy Letby: police found note saying ‘I killed them on purpose’, court hears | UK news

4 Critical Things You Must Do To Protect Your Investments During The Housing Correction

4 Critical Things You Must Do To Protect Your Investments During The Housing Correction

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Why the Rolex rally is on pause in 2025

Why the Rolex rally is on pause in 2025

June 22, 2025
US to demand student visa applicants make social media public — RT World News

US to demand student visa applicants make social media public — RT World News

June 22, 2025
Instead of paying recurring fees for Adobe Acrobat, own your PDF editing tools for life for

Instead of paying recurring fees for Adobe Acrobat, own your PDF editing tools for life for $30

June 22, 2025
‘Abundance of caution’: NYPD boosts security across NYC as US makes direct entry in Israel-Iran conflict; steps up protection of cultural and diplomatic sites

‘Abundance of caution’: NYPD boosts security across NYC as US makes direct entry in Israel-Iran conflict; steps up protection of cultural and diplomatic sites

June 22, 2025
Ethereum Weekly Chart Nears Tower Top Formation As US Launches Attack On Iran – Details

Ethereum Weekly Chart Nears Tower Top Formation As US Launches Attack On Iran – Details

June 22, 2025
Fidelity Highlights Bitcoin’s Ancient Supply Surge as Dormant Coins Outpace New Issuance

Fidelity Highlights Bitcoin’s Ancient Supply Surge as Dormant Coins Outpace New Issuance

June 22, 2025
Euro Times

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Business & Financial News, Stock Market Updates, Analysis, and more from the trusted sources.

CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Finance
  • Health
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Stock Market
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • World

LATEST UPDATES

Why the Rolex rally is on pause in 2025

US to demand student visa applicants make social media public — RT World News

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In