Integrating Stocks, Collection and Treatment Pathways in an Urban Material Flow Analysis of Electrical and Electronic Equipment
This study employs Material Flow Analysis to quantify the lifecycle stocks and flows of Electrical and Electronic Equipment in London, revealing significant gaps in formal collection and reuse while demonstrating that targeted interventions in repair, remanufacturing, and collection could substantially advance circular economy goals.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Every year, the world generates a staggering amount of discarded electrical and electronic equipment, from old refrigerators and washing machines to broken smartphones and laptops. This waste stream is growing faster than any other, creating a massive environmental burden and causing a significant loss of valuable materials like gold, copper, and rare minerals that could be reused. While many people assume that once an item is thrown away, it is simply collected and recycled, the reality is far more complex. A large portion of this waste never enters a formal recycling system; instead, it ends up in landfills, is burned for energy, or is shipped to other countries where it may be processed under unsafe conditions. To build a truly circular economy, where products are kept in use for as long as possible and materials are recovered efficiently, we need a clear picture of exactly how these items move through our cities, where they get stuck, and where they disappear.
Researchers at the University of Oxford have taken a deep dive into this issue by mapping the entire life cycle of electrical equipment in London. They focused on the year 2024, tracking everything from the moment new devices were sold to the moment they were discarded or put into storage. Their goal was to understand not just how much waste is created, but how much equipment is actually sitting in homes and businesses, waiting to be used again or thrown away. By following these items through every stage of their life, the team created a detailed map of the city's electronic flows, revealing where the system works and where it is failing.
The study found that Londoners purchased a massive amount of new electrical equipment in 2024, totaling over 255,000 tonnes. However, the amount of equipment that was actually thrown away that same year was much lower, at roughly 140,400 tonnes. This gap tells a clear story: a huge quantity of electronics is accumulating in homes and offices, sitting in drawers, cupboards, and storage rooms. The researchers estimated that the total stock of electrical equipment currently in use or stored in London is enormous, weighing in at over 3.4 million tonnes. This "urban mine" is growing every year, with household stocks increasing by more than 4 percent annually. The data suggests that many of these items are not broken but are simply dormant, sitting unused while their owners wait for the right moment to dispose of them or perhaps hoping to use them again later.
When the equipment does reach the end of its first life, the path it takes is critical. The researchers discovered that less than a quarter of the discarded equipment was reused, repaired, or remanufactured. Instead, the majority of what was thrown away became waste. Of the waste that was generated, only about a quarter was formally collected by official recycling services. The rest disappeared into informal channels: it was mixed with general household trash, dumped illegally on the streets, or sent to scrap metal dealers and overseas markets without proper oversight. This lack of formal collection has a direct impact on what happens to the materials. When waste is collected through official channels, the vast majority is recycled. However, when it ends up in general trash bins or is dumped illegally, it is almost always burned for energy or sent to a landfill, with very little chance of being recovered.
The study also highlighted that different types of equipment follow different paths. Large household appliances, such as washing machines and fridges, are the most common items to be reused or sent for recycling. In contrast, smaller items like IT equipment and telecommunication devices are more likely to be repaired by independent shops or, unfortunately, to end up in the trash. The researchers noted that while there is a lot of talk about the "right to repair," the actual rate of repair remains low compared to reuse. Most of the reuse and repair activity is driven by individual sellers and small local businesses rather than large manufacturers or official programs.
To test how the system could be improved, the researchers modeled three different scenarios. They found that if more people chose to reuse or repair their old equipment instead of buying new ones, the city could significantly reduce the amount of new equipment it needs to purchase. Specifically, increasing reuse could cut new purchases by up to 8 percent, while boosting repair rates could reduce them by nearly 3 percent. Furthermore, if the city could double the amount of waste that is formally collected, the amount of material sent for recycling could increase substantially, recovering far more valuable resources.
The findings suggest that the key to a better system lies in managing the growing stocks of equipment already in our homes and improving how waste is collected before it becomes mixed with general trash. The researchers argue that current policies often focus only on how much waste is generated, missing the huge opportunity presented by the dormant equipment sitting in storage. By making it easier for people to return or repair their old devices and by ensuring that waste is collected through formal channels, cities can keep materials in use longer and reduce the need to extract new resources from the earth. The study concludes that a successful circular economy for electronics requires a tailored approach that recognizes the different needs of various product types and addresses the specific ways people in cities actually use and discard their technology.
Drowning in papers in your field?
Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.