About Mobile Phone Recycling

Do you know the basics of mobile phone recycling?

If you’re like most UK residents, you don’t know much, if anything, about recycling your old mobile phones. A stunningly large majority of consumers here, for instance, have no idea that they can recycle their unwanted mobile phones for cash.

Studies suggest that as many as two-thirds of UK residents do not know how to recycle their old mobile phones. This is why only 3 percent of consumers here ever recycle their old mobile phones.

The vast majority instead either stow their now unwanted mobile phones in the bottom of their briefcase or the top of their bookcase. And there it sits, untouched, for years. Others do an even worse deed: They dump their old mobile phones in the trash.

This is a terrible move for the health of our environment. A growing percentage of this country’s waste stream is made up of old mobile phones and other electronics. This is hardly surprising news: Electronics manufacturers today are constantly introducing new versions of their mobile phones, laptop computers and MP3 players. This encourages consumers to constantly think about upgrading to these better models.

This leaves behind, of course, all those old mobile phones that suddenly don’t seem to exciting.

When mobile phones end up in landfills, they take up valuable space, of course. But they also can leak potentially dangerous chemicals into the soil. This is an even bigger problem. We should all feel a bit nervous about electronics that are leaking lead, cadmium, beryllium and other chemicals into our landfills.

Fortunately, there is a better alternative: Consumers can simply recycle their old mobile phones. And they can do this for cash.

A growing number of private companies will pay cash for old mobile phones. Most of these companies have set up their own shops on the Web. Consumers can find them easily enough by typing in the phrase “mobile phone recycling” in their favorite search engines. Dozens of online retailers will pop up, and all of them are more than happy to send consumers cash for old mobile phones.

The amount of cash varies according to the type and model of mobile phones being recycled. But many old mobile phones will fetch prices averaging in the 20- to 30-pound range. That’s not too shabby considering that recycling a mobile phone takes hardly any effort on the part of consumers.

Here’s how it works: Consumers log onto one of the many sites run by private recycling companies. They then search for their make and model of mobile phone. Once they click on this, the recycling company’s Web site will provide a cash offer. The consumer can accept or reject the offer.

When consumers reject an offer, they can select a new site devoted to mobile phone recycling in search of the promise of a larger amount of cash. They may find that the original offer was a fair one. They may find that it was not.

Once consumers do accept an offer, they can mail their mobile phone to the recycling company. They also have the option of asking the company to first send them a padded, self-addressed envelope for their mobile phone. Regardless of which option they choose, consumers should expect to receive their payment within seven business days after mailing their mobile.

The good news is that there are plenty of mobile phone recycling Web sites now up and running. Consumers can choose from sites such as EarthMobile.com, Envirofone.com and Fonebank.com. If they don’t like these, they can choose from dozens of additional recycling sites.

Consumers, then, should keep the basics of phone recycling in mind when they tire of their current mobile phones. With just a bit of effort, consumers can sell their old mobile phones for cash.