What Happens To Old Mobile Phones?

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There are a number of companies who will take on old mobile phones because the handsets or components can be used for various purposes. Scratched or cracked screens and casing can be replaced and then the phones can be passed on. The charity ‘Phones for safety’ supplies reconditioned mobiles to victims of stalking or domestic abuse. These phones can be used for 999 calls only and the police can be reached by pressing any button.

If you make an insurance claim regarding a phone it is likely that the replacement handset you receive will be a reconditioned one.

Most mobile networks buy second hand phones to sell to their customers at discount. Especially true if the handset has casing damage. Some phones are given to developing countries where they will help to improve access to technology. Plastic from old phones can be used in traffic cones.

The metallic elements inside phones such as gold, silver, platinum, titanium and copper can be melted down and used in iPods, cameras, jewellery and saucepans. There is 0.2 mgs of gold in a phone.

London and Manchester based recycling firm Regeneris sends mobile phone material to Sweden and France where zero landfill policies are in operation. 

There is a lot that can be done with even the most severely mistreated phone. Leading British phone recycler ShP was established in 2001 and their slogan is ‘we help the environment one mobile at a time.’

ShP claim that only around3-4% of the phones they receive are BER (Beyond Economic Repair).

Here is the process that phones go through with ShP.

1.      The value of the phone is established and if it is above 10 units then the customer is offered a free courier service to collect the phone or they can send it freepost.

2.      Once the phone is received the factory settings are restored and any data that is still on the phone is erased.

3.      The phone is checked against MEND the Mobile Equipment National Database to ensure that it is has not been lost or stolen.

4.      The phone is either valuable as a whole or in part.

                                                   

If you have a phone at home that you are keeping as a ‘spare’ but really never intend to use, or you are going to throw your handset into landfill when you upgrade…think again. It could end up saving someone’s life!