Abstract
The advancement of communication technology is shortening the lifetime of mobile phones (MP), resulting in a phenomenal increase in mobile phones waste (MPW). However, instead of recycling their obsolete devices, customers shelved MPW for the personal data stored inside. This study aims to estimate secondary minerals contained in MPW stockpiled by Indonesians. “Consumption and used” method was employed to assess the quantity of MPW generated in this country based on the data of mobile subscribers. Considering that MP life span was around 3 years, and about 38% of obsolete MP were hoarded by their owners, this study revealed that about 339.69 million units of MPW were waiting to enter the reversed logistics. This volume of MPW may generate economic intrinsic at approximately USD 508 million from valuable metals such as 80,949 Kg of silver, 8,873 Kg of gold, and 2,547 Kg of palladium. It implied that hoarding MPW impedes the noble goal of recycling; that is to promote sustainable materials management (SMM) since mining precious metals from e-waste will reduce the demand of virgin minerals directly extracted from nature and reduce the environmental impact. This paper highlighted that it is imperative to develop a sustainable system to support the mineral supply chain.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
