Nation sits on gold mine of idle mobile phones

China Resources Recycling Group, a centrally administered State-owned enterprise launched in Tianjin municipality in October, has been actively advancing the development of its nationwide network for electronic waste disposal, according to its chairman.

Liao Huanle, chairman of the group, made the remarks in a conference themed on the efficient recycling of discarded cellphones on July 18.

Addressing the event, he emphasized resource recycling as a burgeoning industry and highlighted the recycling of electronic products such as cellphones as a critical and pressing task.

"Public data indicates that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China is projected to have a staggering 6 billion idle mobile phones, with the untapped value of such secondhand devices surpassing 600 billion yuan ($83.7 billion)," he said.

Many discarded mobile phones are left idle in drawers or are processed in illicit, highly polluting small recycling facilities, Liao said. The challenge of integrating discarded mobile phones into a regulated, efficient and environmentally friendly recycling system is not only a matter of national resource security but also aligns with the country's climate goals and commitment to sustainable development.

China aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realize carbon neutrality before 2060.

Mobile phones are rich in metals such as copper, gold, silver, nickel, tin, as well as plastics, glass and other materials. According to estimates from the China Association of Circular Economy, over 400 million mobile phones become idle each year across the country.

Liao said China Resources Recycling Group launched a pilot cellphone recycling and disposal service on Jan 18 in Tianjin and Shantou, Guangdong province, aiming to harness the potential of the urban mine while prioritizing the security of personal data in these devices.

Devices processed at the group's Shantou facility undergo professional disassembly, mechanical crushing, and smelting under real-time monitoring and full-process traceability, according to the company. Advanced physical shredding and pyrometallurgical technologies enable the safe extraction of precious metals while ensuring personal data security and material reuse.

The pilot program in the two cities was soon expanded nationwide. Starting April 3, users in provincial capitals on the Chinese mainland can schedule either on-site phone destruction or confidential mail-in recycling via a WeChat mini-program dubbed "worry-free chip destruction".

Liao emphasized the profound importance of this expansion as it positions China Resources Recycling Group as a pioneer in the nation's recycling sector, with comprehensive capabilities for autonomously collecting, disassembling and smelting discarded mobile phones.

Liao said his company is focused on the high-quality recycling, trading, tiered utilization and regeneration of discarded electronic appliances.

The company is dedicated to overcoming obstacles that impede the cyclical utilization of electronic appliances, optimizing resource circular flows throughout the entire industrial chain, and improving efficiency in resource recovery and utilization in the sector, he said.

The chairman added that the company will also work toward promoting the establishment of a necessary regulatory policy framework for the compliant export of secondhand mobile phones.