A new study carried out by Fraunhofer Austria Research GmbH and refurbed, Ireland's leading online marketplace for refurbished devices, examined the number of unused devices across European households and their potential for refurbishment. The findings revealed that in Irish households, there are 7.6 million unused devices, or 1.43 old devices per person, of which 2.5 million have the potential to be refurbished and re-enter the market. Dublin City alone holds 874,830 unused smartphones, while households across Leinster account for a total of 4,219,076 old devices. In comparison, Munster has 1,373,346 unused smartphones, and Connacht holds 870,825.

The study also found 642 million devices lie idle across European households, 211 million of which are suitable for professional refurbishment. The quantity of raw materials stored in these devices would allow Europe to meet its demand for metals, rare earths and other materials for several years.

Speaking on the results, Peter Windischhofer, co-founder of refurbed said, "Two years ago, we commissioned Fraunhofer Austria to calculate life cycle assessment data for selected electronics, quantifying the environmental impact of refurbished vs new devices for the first time. Last year, we built a unique model with Fraunhofer that delivers scientifically verified data for thousands of refurbished phones, laptops, and tablets. Now, with this third study, we can show how much impact we can generate if consumers bring old devices back into the circular economy. This is definitely a call to action to Irish consumers."

"Refurbishing smartphones offers huge potential in the circular economy," says Paul Rudorf, project lead at Fraunhofer Austria. "Devices destined to become e-waste are reintroduced into the usage cycle, reducing e-waste, extending product life and lessening the need for critical raw materials. It also minimises the environmental damage caused by mining and production, while offering affordable alternatives to consumers. Refurbishment is essential for preserving resources and promoting sustainability in electronics."

On average, European households hold around €8 in the form of unused old smartphones. While this may not sound like much on an individual level, with 642 million unused devices in total, it adds up to a material value of €1.57 billion sitting in Europeans 'junk drawers'' across the EU. On average, buyback programs offer around €100 for devices aged between 2.8 and 4 years, meaning this results in an untapped market value of approximately €6.42 billion. Aside from financial savings, refurbishing unused devices and extending their use could also save the EU about 24 million tons of CO? equivalent and reduce virtual water usage by 8.5 billion cubic meters over the next 3 years.

Since 2024, refurbed has provided a trade-in service in Ireland, helping minimise e-waste levels and repurpose old tech. refurbed is playing an active role, allowing Irish consumers to recycle their old devices, give them a new purpose and recover the valuable raw materials they contain. The refurbishment process is continuously monitored and refined, setting a higher benchmark for quality in the refurbished tech industry. To date, refurbed has saved over 270,000 tonnes of CO2, 900 tonnes of e-waste, and 94 billion litres of water since its founding in 2017, and has planted over 6.6 million trees.

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