Cell Phones and 747’s

There were more than 5.6 billion cell phones in our world with a population just over 7 billion as of February this year. (1)

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These 5.6 billion cell phones contain over approximately 100,000 tons of metals, with a collective net worth of more than $3.5 billion US dollars. To put this more graphically, the sum total of all phones in use, retired and out of circulation, is equivalent to the amount of metal contained in 360 jumbo jets. How does one get this figure? Dambisa Moyo uses the following calculation: A Boeing 747-400 jet that seats at least four hundred people has a zero-fuel weight—that is, the weight of the plane and all its contents less the weight of the fuel on board—of around 251,740 kilograms (550,000 pounds). This translates into approximately 275 tons. (2) Since the total weight of the metal in cell phones worldwide is around 100,000 tons, this equates to around 360 jumbo jets. A July 2006 fact sheet titled, “Recycled Cell Phones- A Treasure Trove of Valuable Metals,” compiled by the US Geological Survey, helps in calculating the value of metals in the cell phones. (3) For every million cell phones we recycle, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Using this as a base, one comes up with the following values for metals in the 5.6 billion cell phones: Copper $192 million Silver $344 million Gold $2,300 million Palladium $702 million Platinum $43 million Total $3,581 million ($3.58 billion) No question cell phone usage will increase further, particularly in developing nations. Add to this the demand pressures from the soaring use of other mobile electronics—iPads, Kindles, laptops, and the like—and it's easy to see that the demand on metals like copper, gold and palladium will continue to mount ever higher in the decades ahead. (2) According to the EPA, only around 10 percent of cell phones are recycled. Clearly, we should do much better. Dana Hull reports, “Now several companies are trying to help consumers responsibly dispose of their old mobile phones. Each has a slightly different business model, and some still ship the phones or some components overseas. But whichever company you choose for recycling your old phone, make sure to erase any personal data and terminate the service contract before you drop it off or mail it in.”(4) References

1. Ronald Bailey, “A more better future,” Reason Magazine, February 7, 2012
2. Dambisa F. Moyo, Winner Take all, (New York, Basic Books, 2012), 20
3. “Recycled cell phones- a treasure trove of valuable metals,” USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3097, July 2006
4. Dana Hull, “Consumer conundrum: recycling old cell phones,” mercurynews.com, September 16, 2012

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