The recycling profile of mobile phone and other electronic goods continues to rise and the subject is now hitting the national press regularly. Saturday 23 October’s online edition of the Telegraph carried an article entitled “Recycling unwanted gadgets” and emphasised that consumers must dispose of electronic products properly and they cannot just dispose of them with the household waste. The article pointed out that properly disposing of electronic waste can actually be financially beneficial and drew attention to various options. When it comes to selling mobile phones, the choice of recycling companies who will pay good money old mobiles is extensive. However, it is important to ensure personal data, which can be quite a lot on smartphones, is deleted before dispatching the handset to the recycler.
Recent smartphones, such as the iPhone, can fetch very good prices and astute consumers are using mobile phone cashback comparison sites to get the best deal. If a mobile is so old or damaged that it is almost worthless. this does not absolve the consumer of the need to dispose of it sensibly to avoid damaging the environment. The advice is to contact the local authority to find out where handsets and other electronic goods can be disposed of safely. Another alternative is to give old mobiles and other gadgets away to a charity, who will ensure proper they are recycled responsibly.