"Gold worth more than £1.6 billion could be recovered from UK devices obsoleted when Microsoft discontinues free support on October 14, according to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) experts at Businesswaste.co.uk. The eye-popping number comes from taking the UK's share of the global PC market and applying it to the current best guess of how many devices are unable to accept the Windows 11 upgrade, respectively corresponding to 3.6 percent and 400 million devices. This translates to 14.4 million obsolete PCs in the UK."
"Then there is the question of device type: in this case, 70 percent laptops and 30 percent desktops, and respective weights of 1.5 and 12 kg. Businesswaste.co.uk used figures from E-Parisara, which give 190.5 kg of copper, 0.28 kg of gold, and 0.45 kg of silver. Multiply it all together, stir in the respective current values of precious metals, and you get £1.6 billion for gold, as well as nearly £100 million for copper and £33 million for silver."
More than £1.6 billion of gold could be recovered from UK devices rendered obsolete when Microsoft ends free Windows 10 support on October 14. The estimate uses the UK's 3.6 percent share of an assumed 400 million global PCs unable to accept Windows 11, producing 14.4 million obsolete machines. The calculation assumes 70 percent laptops at 1.5 kg and 30 percent desktops at 12 kg, and recovery yields per ton of 190.5 kg copper, 0.28 kg gold, and 0.45 kg silver. Combined metal values approach £1.8 billion, though regional readiness and ESU uptake could alter WEEE generation rates.
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