Why mobile phone recycling makes green sense

by ClickGreen staff. Published Mon 10 Oct 2011 16:03
Cashing in on going green with mobile recycling
Cashing in on going green with mobile recycling

The upcoming release of the latest Apple iPhone 4S will trigger a huge surge in mobile phone recycling – but what are the financial and environmental benefits of recycling the a mobile?

A survey for Nokia found just nine per cent of mobile phone owners have tapped into the booming recycling market, meaning 91 per cent of phone owners are missing out on cash in the pocket and failing to recycle diminishing resources.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, recently recommended mobile phone recycling, explaining: "My old mobile phone contains gold, platinum, palladium and copper: all resources that we have too little of in Europe.

“A tonne of these handsets would contain about 280 grams of gold, 140 grams of platinum and palladium and 140 pounds of copper.

“This is not waste that we should bury or burn; it is a resource that we should respect. This is not just about reducing negative environmental impacts and green house gas emissions, it will also create jobs; in the waste recycling sector alone half a million jobs could be created."

The Nokia study found that besides the trend of keeping old phones as a back-up, lack of awareness of both recyclable materials and recycling channels came as a top reason why most people don’t currently recycle their mobile phones.

But the job cannot be simpler because all you have to do is a visit a mobile phone recycling comparison website that will compare the rates of the different mobile recycling companies and inform you of the best rates when you want to sell mobile.

Sit back while they search through all the major recycle sites and provide an estimate. You don’t have to wait for long because all it takes is a few minutes. The biggest advantage is that you get paid for something you are just waiting to throw out and at the same time helping the environment..

If you want to sell and recycle your mobile, then www.comparemobilephonerecycling.co.uk can help.

And if you want to recycle your ipods, ipads, music cds and gold then you don’t have to go elsewhere too. This company will compare all the latest recyclers prices so you can get the most cash for your gadgets making sure you benefit financially from them.

Mobile phone recyclers should also be aware to remove all personal data from every handset donated to protect the identity of those who have returned an unwanted handset

A random sample of 2000 handsets processed for recycling recently found that 99% of handsets received contained some sort of personal data, including contacts, SMS messages, pictures, calendar entries, emails, notes, mailing lists and to-do lists.

A spokesman for CompareMobileRecycling.co.uk, said: “For most, buying the newest mobile in the market is a craze because it will allow them to be in the category of people who buys the newest technologies in the market.

“So what do you do with the old phones that you already have? Do you dump them in the basement, in the attic or just throw them into the waste bin? Just throwing them into the waste bin could cause environmental hazards because of the harmful battery parts.

“All the old phones are collected and they are recycled or refurbished. Everything that can be salvaged from the old phone is taken away and a new product is created. This will then enter the market as a new product.”





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