There is significantly more data available on end-of-use cell phone collection. According to those numbers, only a fraction of the cell phones being retired is collected.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, for example, estimates that the current collection rate in the USA is below 20% [45].
End-of-use cell phones are collected by a variety of agents.
Municipalities and counties collect WEEE since they are typically in charge of waste management, yet their share of collected handsets is minimal [6].
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) and network service providers take back end-of-use handsets as a customer service, as part of their corporate environmental responsibility program or for compliance reasons. They usually outsource these operations to third-party enterprises. These
take-back enterprises such as Greener Solutions and Shields in the UK and ReCellular, PaceButler, RMS, and CollectiveGood in the USA have identified the collection of end-of-use cell phones as a business opportunity and, apart from alliances with OEMs and network providers, team up with non-profit organizations and retailers to access the stock of retired handsets.
They are by far the most proactive cell phone collectors and handle, directly or indirectly, the vast majority of collected phones.
Collection methods range from drop-off bins to prepaid envelopes or boxes.
There are essentially two end-of-use fates for collected handsets, regardless of the reverse logistics
channel: reuse or recycling [35].