Objective. We have gradually shifted toward the sound-material cycle society, and achieved some positive results. There are many discussions on so-called E-waste cycles. The home appliance recycling law was established and enforced for relatively large size home appliances. However, there is no legislative scheme for the small size home appliance recycling, and the hibernating stock of these appliances has attracted much attention recently. In this paper, consumer behaviors on their mobile phones, such as average lifespan and the management of their EoL (End of Life) mobile phones, are analyzed with the questionnaire survey. Then, the results were utilized for the estimation of both in-Use and hibernating stocks of mobile phones in Japan.
Results and Discussion. We found out that the average lifespan has remained unchanged, while there is a report that the average duration of use has increased. In addition, the number of people who handed their EoL phones for recycling has obviously decreased for this decade. In the end, the amount of the stocks of mobile phones hibernating in the consumer’s house is estimated as 167 million units at the end of 2007.
Conclusion. These 167million units of hibernating mobile phones make up 45 percent of the aggregated amount of EoL mobile phones in Japan and we need to take measures to this hibernating stock.