fact about phone

In 2005 more than 100 million cell phones were discarded in the United States, equalling over 50,000 tons of still-usable equipment. 

There are more than 4 billion mobile phone users worldwide.

Around the world, mobile phone sales have increased from more than 100 million units per year in 1997 to an estimated 779 million units per year in 2005.

Less than 1 percent of the millions of cell phones retired and discarded annually are recycled.

A global consumer survey released by Nokia reveals that only 3% of the total mobile phone users recycle their phones (6,500 people in 13 countries were interviewed, owning an average of 5 phones each).

Over 3 billion people globally own mobiles: if each of them returned one phone for recycling, over 240,000 tons of raw materials could be saved. The carbon emissions saved from this would be the equivalent to taking 4 million cars off the road.

Nokia conducted a study which found that  between 65-80% of a phone can be recycled and roughly 18,500 homes could be powered for a year with the energy wasted by old phones being thrown away instead of being recycled.

Every year, over 100 million cell phones are made obsolete. The average life span of a cell phone is just 18 months. The average American cell phone user owns three or more cellular phones. Up to 75% of obsolete phones are stockpiled in drawers, including the battery and the charger.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 130 million mobile phones go out of use annually in the U.S. This creates an estimated 65,000 tons of electronic waste.

To make one phone, over 2kgs of raw materials are required, including petroleum-based plastics, liquid crystal display materials, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and toxic heavy metals including cadmium, lead, nickel, mercury, manganese, lithium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, beryllium and copper.  If not properly recycled, toxins from these materials can seep from mobile devices into the environment when discarded in landfill, where they can accumulate in the food chain and cause damage to plants, animals and humans.