https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63245150 BBC Homepage * Skip to content * Accessibility Help * Your account * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * More menu More menu Search BBC * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * Culture * Music * TV * Weather * Sounds Close menu BBC News Menu * Home * War in Ukraine * Coronavirus * Climate * Video * World * US & Canada * UK * Business * Tech * Science More * Stories * Entertainment & Arts * Health * In Pictures * Reality Check * World News TV * Newsbeat * Long Reads * Science E-waste: Five billion phones to be thrown away in 2022 * Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Phone wasteImage source, Getty Images Image caption, Less than 20% of electronic waste is recycled, experts say By Victoria Gill Science correspondent, BBC News This year, 5.3 billion mobile phones will be thrown away the international waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) forum says. Its estimate, based on global trade data, highlights the growing environmental problem of "e-waste". Many people keep old phones, rather than recycling them, research suggests. Precious minerals not extracted from waste electronics, such as the copper in wire or the cobalt in rechargeable batteries, have to be mined. * Mine e-waste, not the Earth, say scientists * Millions of old gadgets 'stockpiled in drawers' "People tend not to realise that all these seemingly insignificant items have a lot of value and together at a global level represent massive volumes," WEEE director general Pascal Leroy said. There are an estimated 16 billion mobile phones worldwide - and in Europe, almost a third are no longer in use. The WEEE says its research shows the "mountain" of electrical and electronic waste - from washing machines and toasters to tablet computers and global positioning system (GPS) devices - will grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030. Earlier this year, the Royal Society of Chemistry launched a campaign promoting the mining of e-waste to produce new products, highlighting global conflict, including the war in Ukraine, threatens precious-metal supply chains. Magdalena Charytanowicz, of the WEEE, said: "These devices offer many important resources that can be used in the production of new electronic devices or other equipment, such as wind turbines, electric car batteries or solar panels - all crucial for the green, digital transition to low-carbon societies." The periodic table (c) SPLImage source, Science Photo Library Image caption, Precious elements not extracted from waste have to be mined - at great environmental cost Just over 17% of the world's e-waste is properly recycled - but the United Nations International Telecommunication Union has set a target to raise that to 30% by next year. It highlights it is one of the "fastest growing and most complex waste streams that affects both human health and the environment, as it can contain harmful substances". In the UK, more than 20 million unused but working electrical items, worth as much as possibly PS5.63bn, are currently hoarded in UK homes, surveys by the organisation Material Focus suggest. It also calculated that the average UK household could sell unwanted tech and raise about PS200. The organisation's online campaign provides tips, including where to find recycling centres. Mr Leroy said much more could be done. "Providing collection boxes in supermarkets, pick-up of small broken appliances upon delivery of new ones and offering PO [post-office] boxes to return small e-waste are just some of the initiatives introduced to encourage the return of these items," he said. More on this story * Mine e-waste, not the Earth, say scientists + 8 May Phone waste * Millions of old gadgets 'stockpiled in drawers' + 21 August 2019 Smart phones contain around 30 different elements, some of which the Earth is running out of Related Topics * Recycling * Waste management * Mobile phones Top Stories * Huge fire and gunshots at notorious Iranian prison + Published 1 hour ago * UK's chancellor says difficult decisions to be made + Published 5 hours ago * Gunmen kill 11 in attack on Russian trainee soldiers + Published 1 hour ago Features * How we are uncovering Iran's protests and crackdowns A woman being detained by female special forces in the middle of a road in the Iranian city of Tabriz on 14 October 2022 * Women, men, children - faces of those who have died in Iran intro illustration for feature * The Ukrainian city where Russia is still advancing A Ukrainian army spokesman Col Cherevatyi speaks to the BBC, with destroyed Russian vehicles in the background * * Will the UK financial chaos spark a wider meltdown? man in shadow in front of bank of england * The Ikea-style flat-pack home for refugees. 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