…There is an economic importance with correct recycling. For instance, embedded in one million cell phones are 24 kg of gold, 16,000 kg of copper, 350 kg of silver, and 14 kg of palladium. The act of recycling and reprocessing could return a considerable quantity of these metals back into the production cycle. These recoverable materials can be conservatively valued at $57 billion.
Source: Environmental and economic concerns over e-waste – Digital Journal