Please note, ‘shelved’ indicates mobile phones that are not in use but have also not been disposed of out of the home.

The index analyses 24 European countries, alongside the USA, Canada and New Zealand to provide global context. All countries included were chosen due to comparable and available datasets.

To estimate the total number of mobile phones present in each country, including both phones currently being used and phones that are no longer in use but which have not been disposed of, the index used the “Waste over time” model described in “E-Waste statistics - guidelines on classification reporting and indicators” implemented by Van Straalen et al.

The “Waste over time” model uses European import, export and manufacturing data to estimate the total amount of mobile phones placed on the market, and then uses product lifetime estimates to calculate the e-waste from disposal of end-of-life products; as well as the total stock of mobile phones remaining in the market.

The estimates from this model were combined with information from a small household survey that specifically asked about used and shelved phones.

• The total number of mobile phone contracts, per capita
• For EU member countries, the stock of smartphones per capita in a country, multiplied by the percentage of shelved phones out of total phones as estimated from the household survey
• The number of mobile phones in use as estimated from the household survey

The share of phones in use that were acquired second-hand.

• The value was calculated based on a model developed from the household survey. The value shown represents the reported number of second-hand smartphones in households as a share of all smartphones in use.

The total number of phones not in use but still not disposed of, per inhabitant.

• The stock of smartphones in a country, multiplied by the share of unused phones of total phones as estimated from the household survey
• The number of unused smartphones as estimated from the household survey

The total number of phones not in use but still not disposed of, in millions of units.

• The total number was arrived at by multiplying the total number of unused units per inhabitant by the number of inhabitants.

The share of phones in use that were disposed of by selling into the second-hand market or gifting the phone to someone outside the household.

• The value was calculated based on a model developed from the household survey. The value shown represents the households having sold/gifted a used mobile phone as a share of all households that have disposed of their mobile phone in any way.
• Households providing any response apart from “No, we have not discarded a mobile phone” to question Q4 were classified as having discarded a phone.
• Households responding either “We sold it” or “We gave it away to someone outside the household” to question Q4 were classified as having sold/gifted a used mobile phone.

The total amount of e-waste resulting from disposal of mobile phones.

• The total amount of e-waste is calculated as the number of mobile phones disposed per year, multiplied by the weight of e-waste per mobile phone.
• The total number of mobile phones disposed of per year is estimated based on the model provided by the “Waste over time” model, and averaged with the results from the rebuy Household survey.
• The assumption for the weight of e-waste per mobile phone is provided by the “Waste over time” model.

The percentage of disposed phones entering a recycling or reuse channel. These channels include municipal electronics recycling schemes as well as return-to-reseller collection schemes.

• The officially documented weight of telecommunications e-waste entering the recycling or reuse channel, as a share of the total amount of telecommunications e-waste.
• The number of mobile phones disposed into a recycling or reuse channel as estimated from the household survey.

The total amount of CO2 used to produce the equivalent of the number of unused mobile phones in the country.

• The assumption of CO2 needed to produce one mobile phone was provided by the e-waste Calculator from e-Stewards.

The total weight of lead, arsenic and mercury in unused smartphones.

• The assumption of lead, arsenic and mercury content per mobile phone was provided by the eWaste Calculator from e-Stewards.

The total value of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper in shelved mobile phones.

• The assumption of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper content per mobile phone was provided by the eWaste Calculator from e-Stewards.
• The 2019 market value per kg of each metal was collected from BGR

The overall recycling rate represents the share of municipal waste recycled or composted.

1. How many mobile phones are currently NOT in use in total in your household?

   Count mobile phones that are working but not used anymore, as well as broken ones that you haven't repaired or disposed of yet.

2. How many mobile phones are currently IN USE in your household?

   To be considered 'in use', the mobile phone should have been used at least once in the last three years and hasn't been replaced by another mobile phone.

3. How many mobile phones that are currently IN USE in your household are SECOND HAND mobile phones purchased or gifted from outside the household?

4. Have you disposed of a mobile phone in the last 12 months?

• No, we have not discarded a mobile phone
• We returned it to the seller in exchange for a new one
• We brought it to a shop
• It was picked up by a retailer at home
• We brought it to a city collection point for electronics
• It was picked up by the city at home
• We sold it
• We gave it away to someone outside the household
• We threw it away in the general waste bin
• We threw it away in the plastic recycling bin
• We disposed of one, but I don't remember/I don't know how.

A model was created based on the household size and geographic subregion of the household, and the results were combined with country-level household data to estimate a representative value for each country.

* indicates that data was derived from the rebuy Household Survey.