Five billion phones will become electronic waste this year

Electronic waste - person tossing mobile phone

Of those devices, under 20 percent are expected to be disposed of through recycling programs. By the end of this year, an estimated 5.3 billion mobile phones are expected to have become electronic waste worldwide, and only a small fraction of those devices will have been recycled, according to the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) forum. The estimates were based on global trade data and places the spotlight on a skyrocketing environmental problem. Research shows that many people hang on to their old devices instead of recycling them. That…

Read More