Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40363483›Full record

ArticleMaterials (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Recyclability of Plastics from Waste Mobile Phones According to European Union Regulations REACH and RoHS.

Martina Bruno, Silvia Fiore

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Materials (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Martina BrunoDepartment of Environment, Land, and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5674-993X
Silvia FioreDepartment of Environment, Land, and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5949-0559

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Small waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as waste mobile phones are rich in plastic components. Recycling mobile phones is particularly challenging, since the main interest for recyclers is printed circuit boards, rich in valuable metals, while the plastic components are usually destined for thermal recovery. This study is dedicated to the assessment of the recyclability potential of the plastic fractions of end-of-life (EoL) mobile phones according to the European Union's (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) directives. A total of 275 plastic items (inventoried as casings, frames, and screens) were dismantled from 100 EoL mobile phones and analyzed to identify the type and abundance of polymers via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the presence of hazardous elements such as Br, Cl, Pb, and Cd via X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Polycarbonate (PC) (57% of samples) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (27% of the items) were identified as the most common prevalent polymers. In total, 67% of the items contained Cl (0.84-40,700 mg/kg), and 26% contained Br (0.08-2020 mg/kg). Hg was detected only in one item (17 mg/kg). Cr was found in 17% of the items, with concentrations between 0.37 mg/kg and 915 mg/kg, while Pb was found in 15% of the items in low concentrations (1-90 mg/kg). In conclusion, while hazardous elements are present in the plastic fractions of EoL mobile phones (with higher values in smartphones), their concentrations were below the regulatory limits, suggesting compliance with recycling regulations in the EU.

Indexed as

end-of-life phonesflame retardantsplastic wastepotentially toxic elementsrecyclingwaste from electrical and electronic equipment

Identifiers

PMID40363483
PMCPMC12072332

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.