Mobile Recycling

Here are some astounding figures: there are over 90 million unwanted UK mobile phones tucked away in drawers and cupboards, and approximately 15 million mobile phones UK residents replace annually.

Recycling your old mobile phone offers not only a new lease on live for the ceramic, plastic and metal components of your old phone, but also prevents 1,500 tonnes of waste going to landfill.

How’s that for an incentive? So listen up all you 45 million mobile phone UK-users! These days, mobile phones are the latest fashion accessory – and the variety and scope of fantastic mobile phone deals out there ensures that mobile phones and accessories have a high turn-over. But did you know that even though the average phone in the UK is used for 18 months, the working lifespan of the phone is still another six and a half years. This means that there is a huge market for second hand phones in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. But there’s no need for the phone to go to waste afterwards – because there is cell life after death! Recycled phones have their metals extracted and re-used. The copper, platinum, gold and silver can be put back into use, as can mixed plastic/metal products. Batteries are filled with all sorts of environmental nasties, so just discarding them isn’t the right way to go about things either. Toxic and carcinogenic substances like cadmium, arsenic and mercury are also related to mobile phone batteries and production, and have the potential to leak into the soil at landfill sites. One cadmium battery could potentially pollute 600,000 litres of water – so it’s better to leave them with the experts!

It’s a simple matter to recycle your old mobile phone too. Many hand-back or recycling schemes benefit charity or offer the mobile phone user a cash incentive. So keep your eyes out for your nearest phone recycling centre – not only will it unclutter those drawers, but it’ll be doing the planet a favour too!