Unused smartphones weigh more than 54 Boeing 747-8 airplanes

The study, carried out by online used electronics store reBuy and covering 27 countries worldwide, revealed that disposing of old mobile phones remains an arduous endeavour for many households. — mariusFM77/IStock.com/AFP

In recent years, the appetite for buying and selling refurbished smartphones has grown considerably. But the number of handsets lying dormant in our closets and drawers is dizzying. According to a recent study covering 27 countries worldwide, the cumulative number of shelved cell phones per capita accounts for some 23,964 tonnes of e-waste – equivalent to more than 54 Boeing 747-8 airplanes.

The study, carried out by the online used electronics store reBuy and covering 27 countries worldwide, shows that disposing of old mobile phones remains an arduous endeavour for many households. That particularly seems to be the case in Sweden, where there's an average 1.31 shelved mobiles per capita, which, the study states, means that the Scandinavian country has more discarded phone models gathering dust in homes than it does citizens.