5.3 billion smartphones will be wasted this year

The International Forum's report calls for greater use of recycled materials in the production of new equipment.

Last October 14th, e-waste day, or electronic waste day, was celebrated. To celebrate the day, the Brussels-based Electric and Electronic Waste Forum published a report cited by Techgoing.

The document points out that this year about 5.3 billion of the 16 billion smartphones and cell phones belonging to the world's population will be wasted this year, either taken to the trash or just stored. Calculating that all the equipment is about 99mm thick, all of them aligned would form a height of 50 thousand kilometers, equivalent to one eighth of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

The numbers were determined through a survey carried out in six countries, including Portugal. The study considered not only smartphones but also other small electronics such as tablets, electric toothbrushes or cameras.

In general, it is estimated that European consumers have around 74 electronic devices accumulated, of which 13 are out of use, and 4 are effectively broken.

In Portugal, the most accumulated electronic equipment in homes are mobile phones. So, if you have a cell phone at home that you no longer use, go to your nearest iServices store and learn about our return conditions. When buying new equipment, choose the most sustainable option for the environment and opt for one of our Reconditioned. We have a wide range of Refurbished Apple Watch, iPads, MacBooks and iPhones with a 3 Year Warranty.