Greece leads the European Union in smartphone recycling, boasting an almost 18 percent recycling rate, as per Eurostat data. This surpasses the EU average, where only 10 percent of Europeans recycle their old mobile phones. Eurostat findings highlight Greece, Austria (17 percent), and the Czech Republic (15 percent) as frontrunners in recycling old smartphones. Denmark closely follows at approximately 12 percent.
Beyond recycling, the data indicates that 17 percent of Europeans opt to give or sell their old smartphones to individuals outside of their households, while 2 percent discard them without recycling. Additionally, nearly half (49 percent) admit to storing their old smartphones at home, possibly forgotten in drawers.
In relation to old laptops and tablets, 33 percent of Europeans keep them unused at home, and merely 10 percent participate in recycling. As for Greece, the country also demonstrates commendable performance in recycling old laptops and tablets, securing a 16.5 percent rate. Sweden, Finland, and Denmark lead in this category with about 18 percent recycling rate. Croatia closely follows at 15 percent.