According to their research, people are keeping older phones rather than recycling them which means that a host of precious minerals such as copper and cobalt are being lost while finite sources of these materials have to be mined to meet consumer demand.
With around 16bn mobile phones being used in the world and figures suggesting that in Europe alone around a third are no longer being used that represents massive volumes with significant value that could be recycled.
The WEEE says its research shows that the amount of electrical and electronic waste will grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030 – a source of important resources that could be used in the production of new electronic devices.
At present just 17% of the world's e-waste is properly recycled and, in the UK, it is estimated that more than 20 million unused but working electrical items could be recycled.
Based on those figures the average UK household could raise as much as £200 through selling discarded technology, they just need to be better informed as to where and how they can dispose of their old technology.
