Do you know what your smartphone is made of? When the average consumer purchases a new smartphone, they often spend a great deal of time researching the latest models and comparing their features, etc. But it’s safe to say that only a very small percentage of people will try and find out what materials each phone is made of. So the question is, what are they made out of? And are those materials actually safe to throw into the bin? IT recycling companies all around the world have concerned themselves with this very question - And the answer is quite surprising! Let’s take a deeper look and find out what actually goes into the smartphone that’s in your back pocket shall we? The IT recycling companies that carried out their research found that phones have a wide range of metals used in their construction. It’s vital that they know exactly what those metals are if they wish to recycle them. Taking the example of an iPhone, an iPhone is estimated to contain around 0.34g of silver, 0.015g of palladium, 0.034g of gold and less than one-thousandth of a gram of platinum. It also contains the less valuable, but still useful copper (around 15g), plus a larger quantity of aluminium (25g). Alongside these there are also some very rare metals that can be very difficult to obtain. These are referred to as rare earth elements and include, among others; lanthanum, terbium, gadolinium, and yttrium. Additionally there’s also plastic, glass, the battery, and the materials used to construct the charging cable - All in all, it’s a long ingredients list for just one phone! Why is it important to know this? IT recycling companies have been trying to convey to consumers that many of the materials found in your smartphone can be reused. Every year nearly 350kg of silver, 34kg of gold, 16 tonnes of copper, and 15kg of palladium go into large landfills directly due to this form e-waste. Knowledge is power as they say and so now that you know, please consider recycling your smartphones and electronic equipment.
WEEE Recycle - Do you know what your smartphone is made of?
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