Mobile Recycling – Reclaiming Old Phones Handset Value

Almost everyone in the United Kingdom has a mobile phone. They have become cheap and 'free' when given away with a contract.

Every 18 to 24 months, people on contracts are given a new handset. These are usually faster, better quality and have more features. So what about the old handsets, there must be loads right?

That's right, industry experts show that over 1.15 billion phones were shipped worldwide in 2007. 55 million of which were sold in western Europe. Tens of millions were sold in the UK. In 2009 the figure is expected to be much higher.

So what happens to all the old ones? Some are sold on to friends or contacts, some are auctioned online, some are recycled and unfortunately some get thrown away to landfill.

What Can Be Done?

Mobile recycling is becoming more popular amongst people who want to claim back some of their investment as well as protecting the environment and doing the right thing.

At the end of a contract many find the easiest thing is recycling mobile phones for cash. Phones sent to specialist companies will take any mobile phone, working or broken, then break it down into it's components. The valuable metals, plastics, screens, buttons and everything found in the mobiles are then either melted down, ground up or reconditioned/recycled/reused in new products; not necessarily mobile phones.

Recycling Saves Energy and Stops Landfill Pollution

Recycling the valuable metals instead of mining new ones saves tons of carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere. Mining uses up a lot of energy and destroys wildlife habitats including forests.

Mobiles are made up from components that would take hundreds if not thousands of years to decompose. As well as having some toxic elements inside which could pollute the land they are buried in.

Ways To Recycle

Another popular way to take care of a recently abandoned handset is to sell it to a friend or contact. Providing you know someone interested this can be a good way of making a quick buck.

The next port of call is usually an auction website like Ebay or any online market place like Amazon. Both allow people to put their goods up for sale; They can set the price and customise the selling process. The drawback here is that there is no guarantee it will sell, but still a good way to recycle a working handset.

For people after quick and guaranteed cash for working and non-working handsets, using a specialist mobile phone recycling website is the best place to go. After typing in a handsets model number it will show the current amount they will pay for it. This will either be by cheque, BACS, vouchers or charity donation.

For the least fuss in properly disposing of an old mobile, recycling online is definitely the best option. To get the most money for an old phone, using an auction site or online market place will net more but with the disadvantage of no guarantee and more fuss.

Choose your best Mobile Recycling website right here. The recycle mobile overview page gives single page look at some of the companies out there.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Mobile Recycling – Reclaiming Old Phones Handset Value