The average smartphone contains precious metals worth $13 when properly extracted. Multiply this by millions of unused devices sitting in homes worldwide, and the economic potential becomes staggering. Gold, silver, and rare earth elements in phones could supply manufacturing needs for years if recovered efficiently. Environmental benefits extend beyond metal recovery. Every refurbished phone prevents the mining of 1,500 pounds of earth materials. Manufacturing a single smartphone requires 35 pounds of ore, highlighting why device reuse matters more than ever.
The average smartphone contains precious metals worth $13 when properly extracted. Multiply this by millions of unused devices sitting in homes worldwide, and the economic potential becomes staggering. Gold, silver, and rare earth elements in phones could supply manufacturing needs for years if recovered efficiently. Environmental benefits extend beyond metal recovery. Every refurbished phone prevents the mining of 1,500 pounds of earth materials. Manufacturing a single smartphone requires 35 pounds of ore, highlighting why device reuse matters more than ever.