In the US a mobile phone recycling service called PlantMyPhone is entering participants into a prize draw rather than paying them to sell their old mobile. The initiative was created with the belief that people want to do their bit to help in the fight against climate change and that all they need is an easy and tangible way to encourage them to do it for free.
Traditionally. most mobile phone recycling sites reward users with a cash payment or a voucher or allow you to donate to a charity of your choice.
PlantMyPhone is part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign whose mission is to inspire everyone around the world to plant at least one tree. For every old mobile they receive, it is responsibly recycled and the recycled materials are used to fund tree planting. According to their website, an average 2 year old phone will plant 15 trees and an Apple iPhone in good condition will plant up to 79 trees!
Each user who recycles a mobile phone through their site is entered into a $1,000 prize draw that will take place each month if 10,000 old mobiles are recycled.
Each year Americans dispose of 130 million mobile phones and many of these are not recycled, ending up in landfills where they pose a risk to the environment and wildlife.