From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: The Benefits of Recycling Consumer Electronics Description: Before you throw out your old smartphone, you might want to consider the benefits of recycling it. Consumer electronics like your old smartphone, contain critical materials such as gold, platinum, and rare earth metals that are both limited in supply and valuable. We talked to GAO's Karen Howard--a director in our Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team--about how recycling your old smartphone and other electronics could help extend the supply of critical materials, and reduce the U.S.'s reliance on importing these items. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-712SP, Science & Tech Spotlight: Consumer Electronics Recycling Released: August 2020 [Intro Music] [Karen Howard:] Rather than throwing used or obsolete electronics in the trash, consumers could participate in local electronics recycling events. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Holly Hobbs. So, you bought a new computer or a smartphone, and you don't know what to do with the old one. Consumer electronics, like your old smartphone, contain critical materials such as gold, platinum and rare earth metals, that are both limited in supply and valuable. Today we talk with Karen Howard, a director in our Science, Technology, Assessment and Analytics Team, about how to recycle your old smartphone and other electronics that could help extend the supply of critical materials, and reduce the U.S.'s reliance on importing these items. Thank you for joining us, Karen. [Karen Howard:] Thank you for having me. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Karen, what do we know about the volume of consumer electronics that are being recycled in the U.S. currently? [Karen Howard:] According to recent data: in 2017, about 2.8 million tons of consumer electronics--items such as TVs, tablets, and cell phones--were discarded, and just over one-third of this amount was recycled, meaning that nearly two-thirds went to landfills. However, it is hard to gather end of life data. The World Economic Forum has estimated that more than 75% of global electronic waste is discarded without any documentation at all of how it is handled, including whether or not it is recycled. [Holly Hobbs:] So that seems like a low recycling rate for items that are both, you know, limited and valuable. Do we know why more electronics aren't being recycled? [Karen Howard:] We actually don't have very good information on why. But, it's worth noting a few points that may be contributing. Recycling these devices can be very labor intensive. And it can be economically difficult to break even on. In addition, the recycled metals and the other valuable materials or toxic materials that we might be interested in separating, they're subject to market fluctuations that can make it challenging to recover them in a way that makes economic sense. Gold, for instance, we've all seen on the news how gold's price fluctuates. Sometimes it can be worthwhile to recover the gold from these electronics. Other times it may not make a lot of economic sense. So if we're using economics as our main driver, that can reduce the recycling rate. [Holly Hobbs:] So, what would happen if we recycled more of these materials? [Karen Howard:] If we could increase recycling rates for consumer electronics, we'd have existing and new technologies that can help separate valuable materials, such as gold, platinum and rare earth metals for reuse. We're also gathering the toxic materials, things such as lead, mercury and arsenic, for proper disposal. Some of these new technologies include robotic disassembly, which uses artificial intelligence techniques, such as machine learning and computer vision, to take the cell phone apart. Ultrasound, that makes it easier to separate gold from used cell phone SIM cards, for example. And the use of bacteria, interestingly enough, to separate high value metals from other materials, things like plastics and glass. [Holly Hobbs:] And what benefits could the U.S. see if we increase recycling of consumer electronics? [Karen Howard:] We would see economic benefits. For example, bringing this recycling process into the United States, and increasing the rate of recycling could create jobs that would support a green or sustainable economy. It could also give us a potential domestic source of some of these metals that are not commonly produced in the United States, including those precious and rare earth metals, things such as gold, platinum, and rare earth metals. This would reduce our reliance on imports from sometimes areas of the world that aren't particularly stable. In addition to the economic benefits, recycling could reduce the environmental and health effects of mining new materials, as well as the negative effects of landfilling, the huge volumes of discarded electronic waste that we're currently experiencing. [ Music ] [Holly Hobbs:] So it sounds like there is a demand for recycling consumer electronics, and that there is also incentives to recycle more because the U.S. would benefit both financially and environmentally. But that is just not happening as much as it could be. Karen, what can consumers do to help increase recycling of electronics? [Karen Howard:] Well, rather than throwing used or obsolete electronics in the trash, consumers could participate in local municipal electronics recycling events that some communities have on a regular basis, or if they have a nearby big box store that partners with a certified electronics recycling program, they can turn their electronics in there; and sometimes you'll see bins as you go in the door of these big box stores to deposit tablets, smartphones and other things that are eligible for recycling. [Holly Hobbs:] And what kind of questions should policymakers and federal leaders be asking to promote consumer electronic recycling? [Karen Howard:] One question policymakers could consider is how programs that already exist to support technological innovation or advanced manufacturing, could be leveraged to promote a more robust domestic electronics recycling industry. In addition, what efforts can the federal government, states, and others make to encourage recycling of consumer electronics, rather than disposal, which seems like the easier choice in many cases? What are the potential benefits and challenges of such policies? [Holly Hobbs:] And Karen, last question, what is the bottom line of your report? [Karen Howard:] Consumer electronics are a valuable source of materials that are critical to the defense and energy sectors. We have many new technologies existing or in development to harvest those critical materials, which could provide a domestic source, if we could find ways to increase the recycling rate. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Karen Howard, talking about GAO's recent Science & Technology Spotlight on Consumer Electronics Recycling. Thank you for your time, Karen. [Karen Howard:] Thank you. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov. [ Music ]