Many of us can’t imagine living without our mobile phone and we also often enjoy swapping it for the latest version or a new model. But what do we do with the old mobile phone? If the answer is throw it in the rubbish or just leave them in a drawer somewhere, then you should consider instead recycling the phone. Here are some ideas about why.
Saving money
The majority of mobile phone users today don’t pay for their phone as a single lump sum the way we might pay for a TV or a game console. But these phone do cost money as the monthly contract we pay incorporates something towards the cost of the phone – hence the newer and more advanced the phone, the higher the line rental.
Some 93% of the population currently owns a mobile phone and most of those people regularly change their handset, usually around every two years. However only around half of those phone owners recycle their mobile phone. At the far end of the scale, some 14% of the population have four or more unused devices in their homes.
Those unused mobile phones can be recycled to make money and one of the easiest ways to do this is to use a mobile phone recycling comparison site. This allows you to get the prices for all the top companies in the mobile recycling business without the need to go around various websites – it’s like finding your car insurance but for phone recycling. Once you find the company that gives you the best deal on your device, then it is simple to send it off to them and get your money.
Saving the environment
There are a number of reasons why recycling a mobile phone can be beneficial to the environment. Firstly, recycling it rather than throwing it into the garbage means one less item heading off to the landfill sites, which are already huge and overfilled.
Mobile phones also contain a lot of harmful materials that need to be disposed of properly to avoid harming the environment. Batteries are particularly dangerous, containing arsenic, mercury and lead. These can leak out when the phone is disposed of incorrectly and get into the land or the water. By recycling the phone, components that cannot be used are disposed of correctly and safely with no negative impact on the environment.
Lending a helping hand
Recycling your mobile phone can also be a help to people less fortunate who can’t afford a new phone. A good number of mobile phone recycling schemes actually recondition the phones and send them to those who need them. These are most often people in third world or developing countries who have less support infrastructure than we do. A mobile phone could be a lifesaver if there is an accident or an emergency because they can call for help rather than needing to find a landline that works to get help.
In developing countries, a reconditioned mobile phone could be that first step to a better life for some people. It may allow them to have their own business or a better job, stay in touch with friends and relatives or business contacts and also access the internet. We often take for granted that nearly everywhere we go, we can access the internet but this isn’t the case in many countries. Therefore, a smartphone could be the gateway to the wider world for these people who can’t afford computers or laptop and would never see the internet otherwise. They will soon be able to make use of universal internet access with their phones as companies such as Google and Facebook are working on ensuring everyone can access the internet.
