Recycle your Mobile Phone for Cash or Donate it to a Charity

Most of us will upgrade old mobile phones annually for the ‘latest new release’ when we renew our mobile contracts. It’s become an event that we all look forward to as we get to impress our friends with our latest new phone. We watch them go green with envy for ten days while they then rush out to replace their old phone. When the new phone arrives we quick liberate our old phone to the bottom draw and forget about them.

Recycle your Mobile Phone for Cash or donate it to a charity

Recycle your Mobile Phone for Cash or donate it to a charity

The money saving expert has found a few solutions for your old mobile phone. It’s believed that there are around 80 million redundant mobile phones that have been left lying around homes with their batteries starting to deteriorate. Well you could sell your old phone to a company for up to £150 per mobile or you could choose to donate your mobile phone to a charity. It’s your choice to get some cash-back towards your new phone or to be charitable. Your phone need to be in working order, not damaged and it have its original charger.

“Who buys Mobile Phones? “

Well here is a site that will pay you cash in seven days, thats money for for your phone. They seem to pay the highest amount of the sites I have seen. All you do is go on their website and find your phone; they will tell you how much they are willing to pay. If you agree then follow the steps and they will send you a free padded envelope for you to send it to them by post free of charge. Now sit back and wait for your payment! Always carry out your own research by Googling “sell old mobile phone” to find other recycling companies.

Donate to a Charity

Here is shpcharity which is the complete mobile phone recycle service for hospices and charities. To date they have raised over £2million for charities of all sizes with their mobile phone recycling programmes. Their service is Free, quick and simple. Simple follow the process and finally select a charity that you wish to donate your money to or you can select to donate a percentage of your money to your charity of choice

Other alternative solutions for disposing your old mobile phone are:

  • If you have an eBay account you may want to sell your high value mobile phone here to get the best resale price. You will probably get more money for you phone here then from any of the recycling mobile phone sites. Also if your phone is damaged you could sell it on eBay as ‘spares and repairs.’
  • Keep your old mobile phone as a spare in case you lose your new phone
  • Keep your old phone as a back-up
  • Pass your old mobile phones on to your children.
  • You could always sell your phone at the next car boot sale you go to. Personally I think people buying at car boot sales want you to give it to them or sell it for nothing.
  • Some people carry two phones, one for their ex-partner or work and one for their personal use.
  • You could give it to a friend or if you could sell it to a friend.

What happens to your recycled mobile phone?

The mobile phones are tested and graded, refurbished and the majority of mobile handsets are reused by being sent to developing nations. Envirofone sell their phone in the Far East, Africa, Middle East and South America Some phones are donated to women in women shelters and people with disabilities. If your mobile phone is discarded in landfill sites they can and will leak lithium, mercury and cadmium in the ground with will cause a detrimental effect on the environment.

Before selling or donating your mobile phone make sure you clear your internal memory of your phone numbers and also clear your removable sim card before sending your phone. Have fun and good luck!

Your thoughts, experiences and comments are welcome. Just CLICK on the GREEN coloured COMMENT BAR below and Leave your thoughts or experiences today!

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  1. Michael Lopata said on February 13th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    Good information! I see a variety of students and they are
    always upgrading their phones.

    Reply
  2. Rob Lewis said on February 17th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Interesting info - it’s always amazed me how much old phones can be worth if they’re not too old and still in reasonable nick.

    The SHPCharity link is incorrect, by the way, points to Envirofone…

    Reply
  3. stu said on July 27th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    What an excellent idea to send them to the developing countries for good use.

    Reply
  4. John said on August 24th, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    This is a realy good idea - but thousands of people don’t do it. I bet if you asked 10 of your friends if they’d ever recycled a mobile phone there wouldn’t be many that said yes. Most people have an old phone lying around somewhere it’s just a shame that either through ignorance or apathy that they don’t use one of these recycling services.

    Reply
  5. Karen said on August 25th, 2009 at 11:33 am

    What a great use for something we no longer want. Shame that they don’t do it for other things too.

    Reply
  6. aren from kmobile phones said on September 1st, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    Having seen the tv ads, I guess this is big business now.

    Reply
  7. William said on September 3rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    Having quite a few phones ‘lying around somewhere’ myself, I have to say it is very easy to forget your old ‘buddy’.. After reading this article these phones are on a way to be re-used. Thanks for pointing it out

    Reply
  8. Paul said on September 8th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    I would recommend keeping your last phone as a back up, you never know when you might need it if your new phone goes wrong or something happens.
    If you have stock piled previous phones then you may as well get some money for them, and ebay is as good as any place to do this, I would not recommend using other companies as you will not get a great price for the phone.
    If you are feeling charitable then of course why not give it away IF it is going to a good cause.

    Reply
  9. Barrie said on September 16th, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    Seems to me that most mobiles are virtually pre programmed to fail after twelve months, maybe I am being cynical but my family don’t get much more than a year from their mobiles before the thing starts to fall apart. No matter anyway because the way mobiles are advancing they are almost out of date as they hit the high street and when you can get even the latest handsets for free on a contract most users can’t wait to change. Good idea to get them to developing countries though I’m all for that.

    Reply
  10. Mike said on September 29th, 2009 at 2:18 am

    Great post. I sent you a few retweets!
    There are more ways than ever to recycle mobile phones.

    Reply
  11. Katya said on October 19th, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    Thanks for the information

    Reply
  12. Chicas Latina said on October 25th, 2009 at 4:18 am

    eh… good one!

    Reply
  13. mobile phones said on October 26th, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    Recycling your mobile is a great idea, you go green and make money at the same time!

    Reply
  14. zoocionna said on October 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I want to donate my car to a charity. I do want to recieve a tax deduction, but I don’t want it to go to just any charity I would very much like my car to go to a needy family. I am in the Houton area. Can anybody help me or have any sugestions.

    Reply
  15. JoJo Jacky said on October 27th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    Hey
    I i saw yer post on talkmoneyblog.co.uk
    Very interesting
    Great effort well done !
    John

    Reply
  16. Peter P said on October 28th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    Very informational post. It feels good to see that people share their know-how !

    Reply
  17. Sean T said on November 1st, 2009 at 9:05 am

    yo. thank you for this post

    Reply
  18. sammy from sell iphone 3g said on December 6th, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    This is a really good idea and Interesting info ,it’s always amazed me how much old phones can be worth,
    keep sharing.

    Reply
  19. sell mobile said on March 23rd, 2010 at 9:49 am

    I really enjoyed reading your blog, interesting and will encourage my friends to recycle mobile phones to let less toxin mix up into environment. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  20. David from SellMyMobilePhone.net said on April 8th, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    A really good article and it’s good to see more and more people looking into the possibility of Recycling not just Mobile Phones, but everything from Household waste to old Electrical Appliances.
    The more people realise what a viable and easy solution Selling and Recycling Mobile Phones is, the better it will be for everybody. There’s something like 90 million unused Mobile Phones in the UK alone which is a huge amount, more Mobile Phones than people in fact. As you’ve pointed out, there are Mobile Phone Recycling companies who will offer Cash or Shopping Vouchers for old Mobile Phones, as well as a number of worth while Charities who are Recycling Mobile Phones.

    Reply
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Disclaimer:

Mark is a professional Mortgage Adviser. The Information provided here is for information and entertainment purposes only. The content and information within Talk Money Blog does not constitute financial advice. Talk Money Blog provides general information and does not attempt to provide you with advice that relates to your specific situation. You should discuss your specific issues with an independent financial adviser. Enjoy reading and do come back often!