Life cycle analysis of a refurbished smartphone in Chile

Abstract

A complete life cycle analysis (LCA) of a refurbished high-end smartphone in Chile is conducted to find out its environmental impacts and evaluate potential advantages compared to a new one and a modular alternative. The functional unit is defined as the daily use of smartphone for 3 years, including audio, video, and internet. The results show that use and production phase are the most impactful (52,0% and 45,2%, respectively), but phases contribute differently depending on the impact category. It is also found that a refurbished smartphone presents 71% and 60% lower global warming potential than a new version and modular smartphone, respectively. The lower impacts of the refurbished alternative are due to the reutilization of the device avoiding the impacts related to material extraction and device production. However, it is not possible to assess the significance of these differences due to the lack of uncertainty analysis in other studies. In conclusion, refurbishing can avoid extraction and production phases which reduces environmental impacts. Yet, to appropriately compare different circular models, it is imperative to calculate and publish the uncertainty of LCA results.