From unused smartphones raw materials worth 1.1 billion

In unused smartphones abandoned in drawers, a mine of precious materials and a treasure trove worth more than a billion euros in Europe as a whole. And which sees Italy in third place in the ranking led by Germany. Outlining this scenario are the results of a study carried out by the Fraunhofer Austria study and research centre on behalf of Refurbed, the marketplace for refurbished products.

In Europe, according to the study, there are 642 million smartphones that are no longer used. But not all of them are destined for disposal and reuse. For around 211 million, there could be a new life after sorting and reconditioning. For the other 431 million pieces, on the other hand, the way is to recover raw materials worth a total of EUR 1.1 million.

In this picture, Italy occupies third position with 82 million unused telephones. Of these, some 26 million could be reconditioned and reused, the others recycled by extracting the raw materials: cobalt, tin, tungsten, magnesium, gold and palladium. All with an economic potential of around 200 million euros.

In the ranking that emerges from the study, Germany is in first place with approximately 119.3 million unused appliances. Of these about 40 million could be put on the market after reconditioning, with the remainder destined for raw material recycling. Close behind is France with 96.7 million old devices and 31.3 million potentially reconditionable. As for raw materials, according to the study's analysis, a 160 gram smartphone contains about 43 grams of metals: cobalt, magnesium, palladium, tin, tungsten and gold.

According to calculations made in the study, around 5,000 tonnes of cobalt, 431 tonnes of tin, 129 tonnes of magnesium, 31 tonnes of tungsten, 9 tonnes of gold and 1 tonne of palladium could be recovered from professional recycling of all discarded smartphones.