Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Mobile Phone Recycling–A Case Study in China

With the rapid pace of technological development, electronic waste (e-waste) has become one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. The exponential growth of e-waste, which is disposed of in landfills, incinerated, or dismantled, now significantly contributes to the massive increase in overall waste. This paper assesses the waste produced from recycling mobile phones in China and examines the influence of the waste that is released into the environment. The mobile phone recycling process at formal recycling facilities in China is investigated as a case study. The results highlight the toxicity of the waste and the influence such waste has had on the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was employed to analyze the mobile phone recycling process and Gabi was used to quantitatively indicate the flows and environmental impacts. The results showed that resources recovery, human health, and ecosystem quality are the main effects of the mobile phone recycling waste produced. Based on this quantitative analysis, to reduce the environmental impact of mobile phone recycling, the demand for recycled materials, environmental awareness, law enforcement, and the e-waste recycling system were found to be significant drivers.