Millions of old smartphones gathering dust in Dutch homes, study finds

Nearly 27 million unused smartphones are lying in Dutch households, a new European study shows. The devices, often stashed in drawers, closets, or under beds, contain valuable raw materials but are rarely recycled.

The hoarded phones allegedly hold millions of euros in precious metals such as gold, tin, and cobalt. Fraunhofer Austria, which conducted the research on behalf of electronics refurbishing company Refurbed, calculated that Dutch households are sitting on 44.5 million euros worth of materials.

For Europe as a whole, the total is 1.1 billion euros. “You suddenly have access to an unexpected goldmine. From all that gold, you could produce a lot of wedding rings,” Sharda Balgobind, spokesperson for Refurbed, told NOS.

In the Netherlands, statistics agency CBS reported last November that just 14 percent of people hand in their old phones for recycling. More than half keep them at home.

Fraunhofer estimates that across Europe 642 million old smartphones remain unused. Only one in ten is recycled.

Refurbed spokesperson Sharda Balgobind said many Dutch people hold on to their devices out of misplaced privacy concerns. “They are afraid the data on the phone is not safe and therefore do not hand it in,” she said. “But if you no longer use it, the smartphone is just gathering dust while it could still be of great use.” She added it is advisable to reset a phone to factory settings before disposal.

Refurbed recommends recycling devices older than three years and refurbishing newer ones for resale. “It is important that these materials return to the chain,” Balgobind told NOS. “To increase recycling, you need consumers to take part.”