An estimated five to 10 billion ‘pre-loved’ mobile phones remainidle worldwide.
This is based on early insights from a GSM Association (GSMA) global consumer survey into recycling and reuse of mobile devices.
The report, to be released at next year’s MWC Barcelona, surveyed 10 000 consumers across 26 countries.
Despite mobile phones increasingly being passed down to family members or friends and traded in for newer models, around 75% of consumers still have at least one older phone sitting in the junk drawer.
In its report, the GSMA says nearly one-third (27%) of consumers hold on to their devices out of concern for losing stored photos and memories, while a further fifth of consumers hold on to their devices because they don’t know what to do with them.
While receiving cash is the strongest incentive to get respondents to hand in their phones for reuse or recycling, equally important is knowing their data would be deleted properly.
Based on the survey insights, the average age of phones before replacement is around three years, with most phones (75%) lasting between one to three years.
In addition, 60% of consumers expect to purchase their next phone within the next two years.
Older people use phones for longer before replacing them, with over 40% using their phones for longer than three years.
The top two factors that drive replacement of phones are battery life (very important for 90% of consumers) and poor performance / slowing down (87%).
Fifty percent of the consumers said they would replace phones just to get the latest model. Meanwhile, 75% of respondents had at least one old phone at home not in regular use with nearly half (46%) having at least two old phones, the survey found.
Encouragingly, the survey notes that nearly half of consumers (49%) said sustainability is a “very important” factor in their next mobile phone purchase, with this being higher among younger consumers.
Steven Moore, head of climate action at the GSMA, says: “This extensive survey shines a light on how many of us around the world are more aware of the environmental impact of our phones, want to use them for longer, but also want secure and easy ways to trade them in responsibly. With these markets only expected to grow, this presents many opportunities for companies to innovate to serve this demand.”
Looking at the global reused phone market, over 40% of mobile phones have some form of ‘second (or third) life’; being passed down to family members or friends and traded in for newer models, often over the Christmas period.
Around 14% of phones in current use globally were purchased used or refurbished, with nearly 10% of UK consumers buying refurbished phones, compared to a global average of 4%.
The used smartphone market grew by 6% in 2023, while sales of new handsets declined by 4%. Furthermore, the growth rate for reused and refurbished devices is projected to continue outpacing that of new smartphones in the coming years.
According to the GSMA, reuse and recycling are increasing points of focus for mobile operators worldwide, as they move towards a more circular economy for mobile devices and network equipment.
The mobile industry body estimates that if properly recycled, five billion mobile phones – just half of the latest estimate of dormant devices – could recover $8 billion worth of gold, palladium, silver, copper, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals, and enough cobalt for 10 million electric car batteries.
“Using such materials could help manufacturers develop more robust and secure supply chains and lower the impact of mining operations on biodiversity and communities in sensitive global regions.
“At the same time, operators recognise that further work is needed to address concerns that stop people from returning handsets, such as data privacy, the need to save precious memories stored on devices, and the desire to keep a spare device.”
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