Yeah.. If we would actually recycle them and in other cases allow the mining. I try to recycle all of my electronics, I have a bin that I toss them into when they break (beyond fixing) and when the bin gets full I take it to be recycled. MOST of the time I have to PAY to have them recycled. There is a reason everyone is just saying "fuck it" and toss it in the garbage. Archive: https://archive.today/OaDPn From the post: >>All the critical minerals the U.S. needs annually for energy, defense and technology applications are already being mined at existing U.S. facilities, according to a new analysis published today in the journal Science. The catch? These minerals, such as cobalt, lithium, gallium and rare earth elements like neodymium and yttrium, are currently being discarded as tailings of other mineral streams like gold and zinc, said Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering at Colorado School of Mines and lead author of the new paper.