As many as 5.3 billion %Smartphones from major manufactures like %Apple () are expected to be thrown away this year, according to the International Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum ( %WEEE ).
The number of smartphones expected to be discarded this year was issued as part of a new report aimed at highlighting the growing environmental problem caused by electronic waste or “e-waste,” as it is popularly known.
Many people throw out old mobile phones rather than recycle them, the forum said in its report.
Precious minerals not extracted from %ElectronicWaste , such as copper and cobalt, can pollute ground water and lead to environmental hazards when not properly recycled.
Today, there are an estimated 16 billion smartphones worldwide. But almost a third of them are believed to no longer be in active use.
The WEEE research showcases a “mountain” of e-waste that incudes everything from washing machines and toaster ovens to tablet computers and global positioning system (GPS) devices.
E-waste is forecast to grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030.
Currently, only about 17% of the world's e-waste is properly recycled, according to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union. The UN has set a target to raise that recycling level to 30% by the end of 2023.
The U.S. is estimated to produce about seven million tons of e-waste each year, equal to nearly 50 pounds per person. It is estimated that only about 15% of electronics in the U.S. are recycled annually.
Earlier this year, the Royal Society of Chemistry launched a global campaign promoting the mining of e-waste to produce new electronic devices.