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https://unitar.org/about/news-stories/news/16-billion-mobile-phones-possessed-worldwide-53-billion-will-become-waste-2022>
"14 October 2022, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR scientist in cooperation with
the WEEE Forum expect roughly 5.3 billion mobile / smartphones will drop out of
use this year. Stacked flat atop one another at an average depth of 9 mm that
many disused phones would rise roughly 50,000 km – 120 times higher than the
International Space Station: one-eighth of the way to the moon.
And, despite their valuable gold, copper, silver, palladium and other
recyclable components, experts expect a majority will disappear into drawers,
closets, cupboards or garages, or be tossed into waste bins bound for landfills
or incineration. And, surprisingly, mobile phones rank 4th among small EEE
products most often hoarded by consumers.
Hoarding of the many types of small, unused, dead or broken plug-in and
battery-operated products is the focus of this year’s 5th annual International
E-Waste Day (Friday Oct. 14, weee-forum.org/iewd-about).
Organizers today released the results of surveys conducted to reveal why so
many households and businesses fail to bring Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE) in for repair or recycling.
The surveys were conducted from June to September 2022 by the members of the
WEEE Forum and the results were consolidated by the UN Institute for Training
and Research (UNITAR) Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme.
The surveys show that of 8,775 European households in six countries
representing the diversity of the European Union – Portugal, Netherlands,
Italy, Romania and Slovenia, and separate UK survey, the average household
contains 74 e-products such as phones, tablets, laptops, electric tools, hair
dryers, toasters and other appliances (excluding lamps).
Of that 74 average total e-products, 13 are being hoarded (9 of them unused but
working, 4 broken)."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
