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as of 2018 there are around 2.5 billion
smartphone users in the world if we
broke open all their newest phones which
are just a fraction of the total that
have been built and split them into
their component parts that would produce
around 85,000 kilograms of gold 875,000
of silver and 40 million kilograms of
copper how did this precious cash get
into our phones and can we reclaim it
gold silver and copper are actually just
a few of the 70 or so chemical elements
that make up the average smartphone
these can be divided into different
groups two of the most critical being
rare earth elements and precious metals
rare earths are a selection of 17
elements that are actually common in
Earth's crust and are found in many
areas across the world in low
concentrations these elements have a
huge range of magnetic phosphorescent
and conductive properties that make them
crucial to modern technologies in fact
of the 17 types of rare earth metals
phones and other electronics may contain
up to 16 in smartphones these create the
screen and color display aid
conductivity and produce the signature
vibrations
amongst other things and yet crucial as
they are extracting these elements from
the earth is linked to some disturbing
environmental impacts rare earth
elements can often be found but in many
areas it's not economically feasible to
extract them due to low concentrations
much of the time extracting them
requires a method called open-pit mining
that exposes vast areas of land this
form of mining destroys huge swathes of
natural habitats and causes air and
water pollution threatening the health
of nearby communities another group of
ingredients in smartphones comes with
similar environmental risks these are
metals such as copper silver palladium
aluminum platinum tungsten tin lead and
gold we also mined magnesium lithium
silica and potassium to make phones and
all of it is associated with
habitat destruction as well as air and
water pollution mining comes with
worrying social problems - like large
scales human and animal displacement to
make way for industrial operations and
frequently poor working conditions for
laborers
lastly phone production also requires
petroleum one of the main drivers of
climate change that
entwines our smartphones inextricably
with this growing planetary conundrum
and what's more the ingredients we mined
to make our phones aren't infinite one
day they'll simply run out and we
haven't yet discovered effective
replacements for some despite this the
number of smart phones is on a steady
increase by 2019 it's predicted that
there will be close to three billion in
use this means that reclaiming the
bounty within our phones is swiftly
becoming a necessity so if you have an
old phone you may want to consider your
options before throwing it away to
minimize waste you could donate it to a
charity for reuse take it to an e-waste
recycling facility or look for a company
that refurbishes old models however even
recycling companies need our scrutiny
just as the production of smartphones
comes with social and environmental
problems dismantling them does two e
waste is sometimes intentionally
exported to countries where labor is
cheap but working conditions are poor
vast workforces often made up of women
and children may be underpaid lack the
training to safely disassemble phones
and be exposed to elements like lead and
mercury which can permanently damage
their nervous systems phone waste can
also end up in huge dump sites leaching
toxic chemicals into the soil and water
mirroring the problems of the mines
where the elements originated a phone is
much more than it appears to be on the
surface
it's an assemblage of elements from
multiple countries linked to impacts
that are unfolding on a global scale
so until someone invents a completely
sustainable smartphone we'll need to
come to terms with how this technology
effects widespread places and people
want to learn more about the global
impacts of everyday items check out our
lesson on the lifecycle of a t-shirt and
if you'd like to help us keep making
lessons about important topics such as
these we invite you to make a small
contribution on our patreon page
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