Earn Cash and Protect the Planet by Recycling Cell Phones

Unused mobile phones left unused in drawers hold more than old text messages. A mobile phone is made from precious metals including gold, silver and copper. And as well as it being dangerous to throw mobile phones in the bin (they leak toxins into soil and water), most can be sold for metal, giving cash in return.

The good news is that recycling old mobile phones is very simple. Unless you are returning it for a part-exhange with your provider, you can sell your mobile phone to one of the companies below for fast income. Or choose to donate old phones to help favourite causes.

Recycling your old cell phone is a fantastic way to clear clutter, pocket some extra cash, and divert toxic e-waste from landfills. Up to 80% of a phone’s carbon footprint comes from making it. And recycling old phones recovers precious metals (gold, silver, copper), and prevents hazardous chemicals from leaching into the soil.

Depending on the model and condition, working (and even broken) smartphones can net you anywhere from a few pounds, to hundreds of pounds.

Electronic waste is now huge, with millions of smartphones in use, many people replacing them on a regular basis. It’s best to choose more sustainable smartphones that are repairable and run incentives to keep, rather than replace existing phones.

Hazardous Materials Inside Your Device

Mobile phones are (like batteries) full of chemicals that cause damage to the planet, if they leak. Common culprits are lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants.

The UK is at the epicentre of the mobile recycling dilemma, ranking as the world’s second-largest contributor of e-waste per capita, generating around 1.65 million tonnes of electrical waste each year. Yet millions of old devices sit forgotten in drawers and cupboards.

Just like batteries, over time mobile phones begin to corrode, and leach lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. If this is outside, this runs into local groundwater networks and even agricultural land, posing health risks to people and animals nearby.

Donkeys are often used to transport gold from mines  in searing heat. So the more metals are recycled, the less is mined. There is enough gold (and silver) already mined to last for eternity.

What happens when phones are recycled?

When you send off your old phone, it’s wiped clean and workers or robotic arms open the sealed parts to safely remove volatile lithium-ion batteris, to avoid factory fires, and to isolate cobalt and lithium for purification.

The remaining phone parts are fed into high-speed shredders to reduce metal, glass and plastic into uniform fragments. Magnets then pull away iron and steel, and separators isolate non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminium.

Water-floatation tanks remove plastics, to leave the precious metals behind, which are then smelted or treated to extract pure gold and silver, which is then sold on.

One ton of recycled smartphone material contains around 368 grams of gold, 3,573 grams of silver and 287 grams of palladium:

• Gold and palladium used for the printed circuit boards can be used for micro-electronics and jewellery.
• Copper and aluminium used for wiring and frames can be used for electric vehicles and aerospace components.
• Lithium and cobalt used for rechargeable battery cells can be used for new smartphones and electric vehicles.
• Plastics and glass for the outer casing and front screen can be used for industrial insulation, park benches and car parts.

The Simple 4-Step Process

• Back up and secure. Ensure all your data is transferred to your new device. Then sign out of your main accounts (like iCloud or Google) and perform a factory reset. Recycle Your Electricals tells you how to do it! This will wipe your personal information.
• Find a valuation. Search for your specific make and model on Grade Mobile or Envirofone to find an instant quote.
• Post for free. Most trade-in companies will send you a secure freepost envelope, or provide free tracked postage
• Get paid. Once the recycler receives and verifies your phone’s condition, the money is usually transferred directly into your bank account, on the very same day.

Choose where to sell:

• Grade Mobile accepts phones, which they clean of data (and fingerprints!), then sell refurbished at up to 60% of new price.
• Envirofone buys quality refurbished phones (and tablets), then sells them at a fraction of high street prices, with 12-month warranties.

Donate Old Phones to Good Causes

Many small charities accept mobile phones (and other small electronic goods) for recycling. They can then sell them to companies to raise money for scrap metal etc.

Just like selling, you must wipe your data before donating. Do not assume the charity will do it for you. Protect your information first, then pass the device along to help someone else.

Recycling for Good Causes lets you donate mobile phones to favourite causes (for medical charities, choose ones that help humane medical research):

This organisation can send a sack (free of charge) to recycle the following items once at 10 to 30kg weight, and arrange collection:

• Mobile phones
• Gadgets (Sat-Navs, Ipods, MP3 players, games consoles, games & accessories).
• Cameras (old film, digital and video)
• Jewellery & Watches (even if damaged or broken)
• Currency – Any coins or banknotes, UK & foreign
• Stamps (Loose, single, albums, first day covers, presentation packs)

Fill in the form or call 0800 633 5323.

Simpal (phones for people on low incomes)

Simpal is a charity that gives phones to people on low incomes. It accepts 4G working condition phones (no broken screens, with passwords and Google accounts removed, ideally factory reset).

You can also donate phones to Hubbub, just sign up for a Freepost envelope (phones are given to people on low incomes, with 12 months of free minutes). It will wipe iPhone or Androids (chargers not needed), the site has info on how to remove your Sim or Apple card.

Just like selling, you must wipe your data before donating. Do not assume the charity will do it for you. Protect your information first, then pass the device along to help someone else.

Recycling phones that are beyond help!

If your phone is not even good enough to sell or donate for parts, it’s important to still recycle it properly. Never put it in the bin. Most people when asked why they don’t recycle phones say it’s because they don’t know how to wipe their phones, to remove private details that could be seen by others.

Recycle Your Electricals tells you how to do it! Then just enter your postcode to find places that will take-back any old phones for proper recycling.

Terracycle Community Recycling Boxes

TerraCycle is a US company that has many UK community recycling boxes (some are free and sponsored by industry, others like this one isn’t, so a box costs £100 to £200, depending on size). You just pool together neighbours, office workers or councils for a pre-paid box and place it for everyone to deposit old phone accessories.

When the box is full, you just send it off, and the goods are made into other items. It’s a great one-off way to get difficult-to-recylce materials out of your town forever, to be made into useful items like recycled plastic park benches to industrial piping.

Final Thoughts

Recycling mobile phones is one of the easiest ways to have a positive impact on the world. You prevent hazardous materials from entering the environment and you help reclaim valuable resources. Whether you make a bit of cash by selling, help a neighbour by donating, or use a certified recycler, you are doing the right thing.

Take a moment to scan your desk or junk drawer. Find those old devices today and give them a better end than a landfill. Your action makes a difference.