SMARTPHONES:
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2020

SAVING PHONES
FROM LAND WASTE

SAVING PHONES 
FROM LAND WASTE

Saving Phones From Land Waste

Most of us know the excitement that comes with getting a sleek, shiny brand-new phone. It happens to us generally
every two or three years — sooner, if we drop our phones in the sink or lose them on a hiking adventure. It's hard not to fall in love with the crazy speed, crystal-clear camera and sophisticated new operating system of a new phone when you finally get your hands on it.

Worldwide, we have only about 4.5 billion toilets for a population of about 7 billion people. Yet we have 6 billion mobile phones. Mobile phones are an integral part of our lives, and keeping up with the latest technology to support them is vital.
But what about the phones we leave behind? Not many of us dispose of them using proper phone recycling procedures.
Americans generate almost 3.1 million short tons of electronic waste every year. Around 14 million old mobile phones end up in U.S. landfills every year. There they release 80,000 pounds of lead, an element that is extremely toxic to human and animal life, and they release other harmful substances as well.

Additionally, the United Nations Environmental Program estimates that up to 50 million metric tons, or 50 billion kilograms, of worldwide electronic waste goes to landfills every year. That is enough to fill 100 Empire State Buildings and amounts to more than 15 pounds per person.

However, there's plenty of reason to hope. Electronic recycling is a burgeoning industry that saves tons of valuable materials each year and keeps toxic substances out of our air, soil, and water. Electronic recycling helps conserve energy and keep the planet greener. For example, for every million laptops we recycle, we save the same amount of energy used by 3,500 U.S. households a year.

E-waste recycling is a promising step toward doing some good for our planet. That's why ecoATM is so proud of the work we do to recycle waste and make the earth a healthier place.

Why Electronic Waste Is Valuable

Electronic waste contains large volumes of metal, plastic, and glass. These recyclable materials should not go to landfills when they can still lead long lives as refurbished electronics or as reused materials in other industries. In particular, the rare earth metals in our phones and other devices, such as gold, silver, and copper, are extremely valuable.

Typical mobile phones, for example, are 19% copper and 8% iron. When removed and reused in other devices or smelted down for use in other industries, these metals bring in a hefty price.

Hazards of Electronic Waste

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Health
Hazards

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Environmental
Hazards

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Personal
Security Risks 

Hazards of Electronic Waste

Although tech waste is valuable, waste such as mobile e-waste can also present a variety of dangers to us and our environment.

1. Health Hazards

Electronic waste does not decompose. And because once-new phones and laptops become obsolete so quickly with advances in technology, electronic waste piles up at alarming rates. Some electronic products, like cassette players, floppy disks and even iPods, become permanently obsolete and head to the landfill in astounding numbers.
Electronic devices contain potentially harmful materials such as cadmium, mercury, and lead. Only tiny amounts of these substances are present in any individual device, but together, in a landfill, they create an excess of toxic material. If we breathe it, it irritates our skin and inflames our respiratory tracts. If we drink it in the water, it can lead to cancer and developmental delays in children.

Lead can cause damage to the human circulatory, nervous and reproductive systems. Mercury is a neurotoxin, and exposure to mercury can damage the brain and nervous system. Cadmium can cause learning delays and behavioral disorders in children, and it can also damage the internal organs. Some electronic devices even contain small amounts of arsenic, which is poisonous to humans and animals in large doses. In small doses, it can damage the nervous system and lead to organ impairment.

Additionally, you may know of PVC as the extremely strong plastic used for pipes, but this same plastic makes up a significant percentage of the material in cell phones. The C in PVC stands for chloride. When chloride, a form of chlorine, collects in landfills, it can also be harmful to our health. Exposure to chlorine in high amounts can damage the sensitive tissues of the skin, eyes, airways, and lungs.

The health hazards of electronic waste can be particularly damaging to children's health. Children's nervous, respiratory, immune, reproductive, and digestive systems are still developing, so they are more susceptible to toxic substances. Because they are smaller, children also take in more air, water, and food in proportion to their body weight than adults do. This means that when toxic materials are present in the environment, children take in a disproportionate amount of those substances as well.

In addition, developing fetuses are particularly especially vulnerable to toxic substances in the environment. Loss of a pregnancy, premature birth, low birth weight, and developmental disorders are all suspected as complications that can occur because of e-waste material in the environment.

Though these health consequences may sound dire, they don't have to happen. We can take concrete steps to reduce the harmful impact of the toxic substances found in e-waste. It's easy to do our part by recycling old cell phones and other electronic devices. This is exactly why ecoATM provides convenient recycling centers and kiosks where you can trade your old devices for ready cash. E-waste recycling helps keep us, our friends and neighbors, and all of our children safe and healthy.

2. Environmental Hazards

The lead, beryllium, mercury and other toxic substances in old devices also harm the environment. They seep into lakes, rivers, and groundwater and poison the animals that drink the water. They also contaminate the crops that grow in the affected soil. When people consume these crops, they consume toxic substances from electronic waste as well.
When locals in developing countries pick through discarded electronic devices and then incinerate them, the toxic ash contaminates the air they breathe and the water it contacts.

Studies have shown, for example, that about 85% of our old computers end up in landfills. Over the past ten years, PCs, computer monitors, and flat-panel televisions have contributed the most material to the volume of e-waste produced in the United States. Like old TVs, which contain cathode-ray tubes full of lead, and cell phones, discarded computers leak harmful lead into the environment.

It's startling to realize that over 70% of the toxic waste that makes its way into our country's landfills is e-waste — but that just provides a great incentive to recycle our old electronic devices to keep ourselves and our environment healthy.

3. Personal Security Risks

Many people forget to erase their personal information before throwing away or donating their old electronic devices. If personal information remains on a phone or in a computer's hard drive, hackers can open the devices and retrieve the sensitive information.

Having personal information compromised in this way can lead to identity theft, unauthorized bank transfers and other breaches of security and privacy. Consumers can avoid these headaches by remembering to clear their personal information from their old phones and laptops, then recycling their devices with a reputable electronics recycler.

In the United States, only
20% of electronic waste
makes its way to recycling facilities
— including the waste that we officially export to China and India. 

USA

In the United States, only
20% of electronic waste
makes its way to recycling facilities — including the waste that we officially export to China and India. 

USA

What Happens to a Phone That Isn't Recycled?

In the United States, only 20% of electronic waste makes its way to recycling facilities — and that figure includes the waste that we officially export to China and India. The other 80% is either incinerated, dumped into landfills or unofficially exported to other developing nations. Estimates suggest that a staggering 23% of electronic waste ends up in one of just seven developing countries — China, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Liberia.

Old phones shipped abroad usually end up in large dumping grounds filled with waste. Much of the industrialized world's e-waste is recycled through unregulated processes in developing countries.

The International Labour Office reports that in these dumps, many laborers are children. In this setting, children make ideal workers because they have small, dextrous hands that can swiftly disassemble electronic components. The children and adults who work in these dumps risk their health and safety because of the toxic materials present in the dumps.
In these dumping grounds, workers use flames and acid baths to dismantle discarded phones and other devices. Low-temperature incineration releases heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium and mercury, that poison plant, animal and human life. These toxic materials have long half-lives and remain in the environment for many years, contributing to long-term health risks.

Recycling old phones is a great way to minimize the harmful impacts of our e-waste in other countries. Recycling our old electronic devices keeps them out of these dumps and contributes to a healthier, happier population around the globe.

Benefits of Recycling

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Reducing Energy and Emissions

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Reduce Mining

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Helping Old Devices Find New Homes

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Extra Pocket Money

Benefits of Recycling

bulb icon

Reducing Energy and Emissions

mining icon

Reduce Mining

recycle icon

Helping Old Devices Find New Homes

money bag icon

Extra Pocket Money

ecoATM Logo

Benefits of Recycling

Keeping old phones out of landfills and foreign dumping grounds is crucial to our health and the health of the planet. Here are a few of the other ways cell phone recycling benefits us and our environment.

1. Reducing Energy and Emissions

Recycling old phones and other electronic devices helps reduce energy use.

The metals found in phones have uses in many other industries, too. Much of the wiring in our homes, schools, and offices contains copper, and so do our cars. Silver has uses in other electronics and batteries. Reusing these metals cuts down on the energy required to process and refine new ore.

When companies refurbish old phones and sell them again, that means manufacturing plants make fewer new phones. And fewer manufactured phones means less energy used. It also means fewer manufacturing pollutants and greenhouse gases enter the air we breathe.

2. Reduced Mining

The fist-sized nuggets and wide seams of gold that many of us imagine when we think of the California, New Zealand, and African gold rushes no longer exist. The amounts of gold we can mine now are minuscule, and the effort required to do so is immense. 

Gold mining generates more waste per ounce than the mining of any other metal on earth. Mining just one ounce of gold requires the upheaval of more than 250 tons of rock and ore. Yet the amount of gold they produce at a time amounts merely to microscopic flecks, often so hidden by surrounding copper that local workers never even see it.
Many small-scale miners use mercury to separate gold from the surrounding rock, and the mercury has devastating, poisonous effects on human health and the environment. Some operations use a technique called cyanide "heap leaching," also with toxic effects.

Recycling our old phones is an excellent way to offset the effects of mining on the planet. When we recycle old devices, their components can be used again. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1,000 kilograms of recycled computer circuit boards provides 40 to 800 times the gold and 30 to 40 times the copper mined from the same amount of ore. That means less metal that must come out of the earth. So recycling old phones does a great deal to keep vital habitats intact and keep the earth green and healthy.

3. Helping Old Devices Find New Homes

Getting a newer model doesn't mean our old phones have to become trash. Often, "older" phones are only a couple of years old and still have a lot of life left in them.

When we recycle phones, they get a chance to find new homes. Recycling also helps people who cannot afford new phones keep devices in their pockets. The cost of a brand-new phone is prohibitive for many of us. But refurbished, recycled phones are much more affordable. By recycling your old phones, you give other people a chance to obsess over cat videos on the internet or stay connected with their friends and family too.

4. Extra Pocket Money

Feeling good about our choices and their impact on the world is wonderful. But recycling your old electronic devices pays off in real money, too. When you recycle your old phone with ecoATM at one of our kiosks, you'll get an instant cash reward.

Different types of phones bring in different monetary amounts, depending on what features they have, whether they still power on and whether the display has scratches or cracks. A fully functional newer-model iPhone in good condition could bring in over $300. But even older and more modest phones can still land you a nice chunk of extra spending money.

Choose a Certified Electronics Recycler

Recycling old phones can be a complicated process. Newer electronic devices, for example, often contain more than one circuit board. In some devices, a rubber coating covers copper components for safety purposes, and the rubber confounds the imaging systems that sort components by color. This confusion makes the recycling process more difficult. Additionally, recycling facilities need to use environmentally safe techniques and keep personal data confidential.

It's essential to choose a certified electronics recycler like ecoATM. Certified electronics recyclers have demonstrated to independent, third-party assessors that they can meet exacting environmental standards and handle personal information securely.


If you care about the resolution of your screen, you'll be glad to know the iPhone 12 is likely to use an OLED display.

ecoATM Kiosk

EcoATM has been a leader
in the electronics recycling business for over two decades.

Find a Kiosk

Recycle Your Old Phones With ecoATM

EcoATM has been a leader in the electronics recycling business for over two decades. We've recycled millions of phones and other electronic devices, and the thousands of pounds of metals we've helped recover have gone on to new lives in new phones, laptops and tablets or in other industries.

Recycling with ecoATM helps save old phones from landfills. By disposing of broken phones and other devices with ecoATM, you can play an important part in making sure our planet is habitable for generations to come. The extra cash doesn't hurt, either. Find a nearby kiosk to dispose of old mobile phones safely, or contact us for further information.