Laptops and smartphones - a gold mine? : A material flow analysis of small electronics in a Swedish organisation with focus on metal resources

Abstract: The aim of this study is to contribute to today´s knowledge about stocks of electronic products on the organisational level. This is done by using a bottom-up MFA on laptops and smartphones in a chosen organisation, the data collected for this study is done by both semi-structured interviews and literature searches. Investigating the associated metals in the laptops and smartphones is also an aim of this study. Having knowledge of the existing stocks and flows of materials is important for the prospects of urban mining. This study takes a circular economy aspect of the current state of stocks and flows of materials. Circulation of materials within society is an effective approach to saving resources rather than just recycling the materials since not all materials can be retrieved through recycling processes. The results show that there is a significant stock of metals embedded in the laptops and smartphones in the organisation. Metals found include Aluminium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, Nickel, Tin, Gold, Silver, Palladium, Zinc, Lead, Cobalt, Barium and Neodymium. The results also indicates that some of the laptop stock is in hibernation and so is the associated metals in these laptops. These stocks could be of big importance for future sources of metal resources, but more studies are needed to fully understand the stocks of metals in society and how much of these stocks that are in hibernation.