Old cell phones in Austria: Consumption and the environment save through refurbish!

Old cell phones in Austria: Consumption and the environment save through refurbish!

A current study shows that around 13.7 million unused smartphones are currently in drawers in Austria. Many owners are not aware that around 32 percent of these devices can still be used monetarily. According to 5min , a total of 4.4 million cell phones could be transferred in a refurbine and a second life cycle. This would bring in up to 200 euros per device.

The growing amount of electronic waste is particularly alarming: Up to this point, almost 100,000 tons of E-Watste were accumulated in Europe, which could grow to 140,000 tons by 2030. The increased purchase and sale of refurbished devices could also be avoided 20,000 tons of E-WASTE. An increase in the useful life of smartphones could also have a positive influence, since it could cause a decline in the e-wader current by about 25 percent.

ecological advantages of refurbish

The study published by Fraunhofer Austria on behalf of Refurbed underlines the potential of the refurbish ment for a sustainable lifestyle. Longer use of smartphones can not only reduce the amount of the electronic rotting produced, but also help to cover the need for new raw materials for smartphones in Europe for three years. In the next three years, these measures could also save around 24 million tons of CO₂. This goes hand in hand with a reduction in virtual water consumption by impressive 8.5 billion cubic meters.

In order to support the ecological advantages of refurbished products, Refurbed 2023 Fraunhofer Austria commissioned with the calculation of ecological key figures for products on their platform. Five reference products from the categories smartphone, tablet and laptop have been examined. The result shows that an average of 80 % of the ecological sizes can be saved by buying refurbished products. These results are based on a computing model verified by Gutcert, which shows the ecological balance and can automatically evaluate a variety of over 10,000 products.

circular economy and sustainable consumption

The European context on the subject of circular economy is crucial to understand the importance of the refurbish. According to Eurostat , the raw material extraction and processing are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, the loss of biodiversity and water stress. In order to make progress to the circular economy, the monitoring of the production and consumption phase is essential.

Goals of the circular economy are the reduction in material consumption and the decoupling of economic growth from resource consumption. A large part of the public expenditure flows into the environmentally conscious procurement, which also promotes the circular economy. The minimization of waste revenue, in particular electrical and electronic scrap, is of central importance.