Recycling isn’t the Answer; It’s the Last Resort

Millions of gadgets reach the end of their life every year. Recycling them isn’t nearly as effective as you’d think.

20% lost

20% lost

Between 20% and 35% of the material content of a phone is lost when the phone is shredded and melted down for recycling.

17 Rare Earths

17 Rare Earths

Critical rare earths are present in every single electronic device you own. 99% of them cannot be recovered for recycling.

1,150 Lightbulbs

1,150 Lightbulbs

Your smartphone consumes enough energy during manufacturing to power 1,150 60-watt light bulbs for an hour—energy lost when the phone is shredded.

0 Smartphones

0 Smartphones

That’s the number of smartphones that have been made from 100% recycled materials. We cannot make a new phone from an old one.

Recycling electronics is a waste of energy.

Recycling is better than throwing stuff away. But it’s not a solution—and it’s not nearly as “green” as electronics manufacturers want you to believe.

When you buy a smartphone or a tablet, it comes with something you can’t
       see or feel: embodied energy.

When you buy a smartphone or a tablet, it comes with something you can’t see or feel: embodied energy.

It takes (literally) tons of raw materials, hundreds of person-hours, and enormous amounts of energy to manufacture the electronics that most of us use. 85% of the emissions impact of a smartphone comes from production. Smartphones and data centers are damaging to the environment and will have the biggest carbon footprint in the tech industry by 2040.

Just how much energy does it take to make a computer? Almost as much as it takes to make that big refrigerator in your kitchen.

Our electronics might be smart, but they are also dirty.

Here’s what goes into your stuff before you even buy it:

One microchip

One microchip,

weighing less than an ounce, guzzles up 70 pounds of fresh water.

One desktop

One desktop

uses up to 30 times its weight in fossil fuels.

One laptop

One laptop

emits over 500 pounds of carbon dioxide during manufacturing.

Recycling doesn’t close the loop.

Recycling doesn’t close the loop.


A typical smartphone is about 50% metals—many of which are alloyed together.

Some metals, like critical rare earth elements, are too difficult or too expensive to separate out for recycling. Only a small handful of metals can be recovered through smelting.

What's in your cell phone?

Of the over 30 metals in your cell phone, half of those metals have functional recycling rates under 50%—meaning the properties that made the metal desirable in the first place cannot be retained, and the metal cannot be reused.

What's in your cell phone?
There’s a better way...

There’s a better way...




Repair is better than recycling.

And we're not the only ones who think so. Leading think tanks, like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, say the best way to support both the economy and the environment is through a Circular Economy, where resources are designed for widespread reuse.

The circular economy: How repair is better.

In a Circular Economy, repair is the inner loop—making it the quickest, most effective way to get more value out of our resources.

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, then Recycle.

It’s better for the planet, the pocket book, and the bottom line.

Learn More

Green standards are in need of repair—How manufacturers are fighting environmental initiatives.

Cell phone reuse vs recycling (hint: reuse is better).

The monster footprint of digital technology.

Why Right to Repair is necessary for the future of recycling.

Take Action

If you’re not going to use your device anymore, pass it on to a family member or friend who needs it.

Instead of recycling, sell your stuff on Craigslist or Swappa. Or sell your old phone to folks like Backmarket.

Encourage your company to donate old hardware to schools and reuse programs. Make sure they go on to a second life.