In the UK, the average consumer replaces his/her mobile phone every 18 months and it is estimated that over 15 million mobile phones are replaced each year in the UK.   There are an estimated 45 million mobile phones in circulation at present in the UK.   Approximately 77% of the population have at least one mobile phone.   If you placed 15 million phones one in front of the other they would travel 2,250 kilometres which is more than 10 times around the M25.   15 million phones, placed end to end, would stretch from Lands End to John O’Groats – and almost halfway back again!   15 million phones, standing one on top of another, would be 254 times higher than Mount Everest. And nearly 23,000 times taller than Big Ben (the tower)!   15 million phones equates to some 1500 metric tonnes of potential landfill, which is the equivalent to burying a World War 2 Naval Destroyer or 6 Mir Space stations.   Within 3 years, enough phones will have been discarded in the UK to cover the length of the Great Wall of China from one end to the other. Within 6 years there will be enough surplus phones to lie end-to-end to cover the 13,871 kilometres from London to Darwin in Australia. Phones contain a number of substances including precious metals and some hazardous materials. They are completely harmless until they are thrown in landfill where they degrade and can cause serious damage to the environment.   The cadmium from one mobile phone battery is enough to pollute 600,000 litres of water, which would fill 1/3 of an Olympic sized swimming pool. When disposed of via Fonebak, the cadmium is put back into productive use. Cadmium is no longer used in mobile phone batteries.   Platinum, Gold, Silver, Copper are all found in small quantities in mobile phones. With Fonebak, all precious metals are extracted from phones during the recycling process.   With Fonebak, mixed plastics (those that contain metals and plastics) are sent to a specialist recycler in Sweden who incinerates the plastic and uses the energy to heat the local village. The metals are extracted during this process and are sold on the commodity market. This is known as ‘waste to energy’.   All accessories, including the plastic packaging and paper manuals that come with the phone, can also be recycled through the Fonebak scheme.