Old devices hold €65 billion in unused materials
Wednesday 9th September 2026 on 06:30 in
Switzerland
Discarded household appliances and consumer electronics contain raw materials worth an estimated €65 billion across the European Union, according to a study reported by Swiss broadcaster SRF.
Many devices are never returned for proper disposal. Nando Erne, media officer at SENS eRecycling, a foundation that operates Switzerland’s nationwide take-back system for electronic devices, said disposal is not part of most people’s routine. As a result, old appliances are often put in basements or drawers and left there.
Some people keep old devices as replacements. For example, they may retain an old raclette grill in case the new one breaks down. Data-protection concerns also prevent people from returning smartphones and laptops because they are unsure whether their data has been fully deleted.
The WEEE Forum, an association of European take-back systems for electrical and electronic equipment, estimates that each household in the EU has an average of nine unused devices and four additional broken ones. No comparable figures are available for Switzerland, although the country’s higher average income could mean that more devices are stored there per person.
Erne said the industry should make consumers more aware of the need to clear out unused equipment. Campaigns could encourage people to return devices during occasions such as spring cleaning. He also said collection points should be made more visible and returns as simple as possible.
Materials such as copper and aluminium can be extracted from electronic devices and returned to the production cycle. Recovering rare earths is more difficult because they are present in very small quantities. Extraction is currently often technically impractical, too expensive or no longer environmentally worthwhile.
Switzerland already recycles large quantities of electronic equipment, Erne said. Even so, households could check whether an old smartphone in a drawer or a discarded vacuum cleaner in a basement would be better placed in a collection system.