On March 5, CNMO learned that, according to CCTV, as mobile phones end their service life or no longer meet the needs of users, they are often eliminated and become waste mobile phones. According to data from the China Association of Circular Economy, the average lifespan of mobile phones is about 22 years. Every year, China produces more than 400 million waste mobile phones, and the stock is more than 2 billion.
However, surprisingly, among these used phones, about 542% are left idle at home by consumers, while only about 5% have entered professional channels, such as used mobile phone platforms or "trade-in" activities. Zhou Ju, president of the Hunan Provincial Circular Economy Research Association, said that this reflects that the public's awareness of waste mobile phones has not yet been formed, but it also means that the waste mobile phone industry has great potential for development.
Waste mobile phones** face some challenges, such as low quality, the process is not convenient and fast, and data security is difficult to guarantee, etc., which all lead to low consumer trust and willingness to use mobile phones**. Zhou stressed that transparency and standardization in the industry are key to promoting the development of the industry.
Despite being considered garbage, scrap phones are actually a misplaced resource. Zhou Ju introduced that a mobile phone contains more than 60 kinds of elemental materials, including gold, silver, palladium, rhodium and other rare materials, which can be reused. It is estimated that about 200 grams** and 100 kilograms of copper can be extracted from each tonne of used mobile phones.
According to the report, by 2030, the total number of used mobile phones in China will reach 370,000 tons. If the rate of mobile phones can be maintained at about 33%, then by 2030, the total value of the metal will be as high as 25.1 billion yuan. This will not only reduce energy consumption by nearly 5.6 billion kWh, but also be equivalent to 20 times China's renewable energy generation in 2022. Therefore, the use and reuse of waste mobile phones not only has economic benefits, but also has great significance for environmental protection and sustainable development.