Estimating the Generation of Discarded Mobile Phones and Highlighting Areas for Recycling Precious Metals from Printed Circuit Boards in Thailand

Over the last decade, Thailand imported approximately 21 million units of new mobile phones every year, equivalent to 262 million. While technology changes, consumers want the newest model to serve their lifestyle. These discarded mobile phones will be a challenging issue for waste management systems because of the metals in mobile phones, especially in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Sufficient and sustainable management is needed to maximize the benefits of recycling metals and minimize potential risks to public health. This study aims to estimate the possible range of DMP generation in Thailand (2012-2021) with the Approximation 2, Simple Delay, and Time Step methods using the government published data and a literature review. The results show that the discarded mobile phones ranged from approximately 1700 to 2500 tons/year, equivalent to 0.027 to 0.038 kg/year/capita over the last ten years. In 2021, more than half of the total mobile phone waste generated in the northeastern and central areas of Thailand was around 468.73 and 325.14 tons/year, respectively. Additionally, 1.28 tons of precious metals (Ag, Au), 5.33 tons of rare earth elements, and 7.26 tons of toxic metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb) can be found in the PCB waste of DMPs.

Automated summary

Over the past decade, Thailand imported 21 million units of new mobile phones each year, posing a challenge for waste management systems. The study found that the discarded mobile phone quantity ranged from approximately 1700 to 2500 tons per year over the last ten years, with more than half of the total waste generated in the northeastern and central areas of Thailand in 2021.