By According to a new report from CBS, more than half of mobile phone users keep their old phones at home and only 14% recycle them. Old laptops and tablets are also more likely to end up in a drawer rather than a recycling bin, and environmental concerns are at the bottom of the list of features that users look for in a new phone, according to the agency.
Larger IT equipment, such as old personal computers, are more likely to be recycled – approximately 36% are returned for reprocessing. The over-65s are the most likely to recycle their old phones, with nearly one-quarter doing so and only 15% giving them away. A Dutch start-up is working to make mobile phones more ethical. Between 60% and 70% of the 5,800 people polled said speed and memory are the most important factors in purchasing a new phone, while 50% said price is important.
Only 10% are concerned with how much energy a phone consumes, and 5% are concerned with how environmentally friendly a phone is. According to the study, 91% of people aged 16 and up owned a smartphone, 70% owned a laptop, and 50% owned a tablet. Three out of every ten people polled owned a computer.
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