As reported by "Russkaya Germaniya", these data are provided by Bitkom – the Federal Association of Telecommunications and Information Technology Companies (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien). The number of unused devices is estimated at 199.3 million, twice as many as five years ago, and in 2010 the number of "homeless" mobile phones in the country was estimated at 72 million.
The trend of recent years is unchanged: we store more and more high-tech waste, with an increase of 75 million phones in the last two years alone. According to Bitkom, 85% of German residents keep at least one unused mobile phone at home, 51% keep two, and 31% keep three or more devices.
These figures are not surprising when compared to the life cycle of a modern smartphone. Its service life from the moment of first use, according to current statistics, is just over two years. This period has even increased slightly recently; a few years ago, the average German bought a new mobile more often than once every two years.
"In very rare cases is a smartphone replaced due to a breakdown or defect," notes Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder. "Most people buy a new device to take advantage of expanded and improved functionality, and keep the old one just in case."
Such consumer habits cause considerable inconvenience for industry. "Old phones contain many materials that can be recycled and reused – these are valuable raw materials, rare earth elements," explains the head of Bitkom. Their extraction consumes many resources, particularly energy, which is costly for consumer electronics manufacturers. They would gladly rely on secondary raw materials obtained from recycling old phones that have undergone proper disposal.
Many owners part with their devices in this way, but still, not every buyer thinks about the fact that their smartphone could still be useful instead of lying uselessly in a closet.
Two-thirds of German residents, according to a Bitkom survey, have ever recycled or resold a smartphone/mobile phone. A quarter of users have given away or simply passed on a decommissioned phone for further use. At the same time, more than 20% of Germans keep every phone they have ever used.
What is the reason for such love of electronic waste among German residents? Most often it is a combination of factors. Every second person wants to have a spare phone in case the new purchase fails. More than a third fear that data from the old phone could fall into the wrong hands. Every third person believes that the effort of reselling or recycling an old phone is not worthwhile.
Almost every fourth person finds the task of saving data or photos to a new device too complicated. Finally, every fifth person does not know how to properly dispose of an old smartphone or mobile phone.
Such a device, like any other consumer electronics, belongs not in the trash bin but at a recycling center (Recyclinghof). Large retail chains, as well as manufacturers, accept old phones for recycling free of charge.
At the same time, many of the phones lying in drawers and cabinets can bring their former owner some amount in euros – sometimes quite substantial. A search for "smartphone" on the internet auction site yields about 50,000 results; there are several well-known specialized online stores that buy and resell phones – and not only the latest models. 9% of the country's population have used the services of such professional buyers, while every second buyer of a used phone listed on eBay is a private individual.
Both before selling and when handing over for recycling, it makes sense to remove all personal data from the phone – and many have problems with this. 91%, when parting with a phone, take some measures (remove the SIM card or save data). However, only 29% use a function such as resetting to factory settings. This is available on every device and "depersonalizes" it, depriving the new owner of access to personal information stored in the phone – phone and address book, social media profiles, photos and videos, online access to bank accounts.
But obviously, for more than two out of three German residents, finding the right line in the smartphone menu turns out to be too difficult a task.