Recycle Old Cell Phones for Ca$h and Charity
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.22.06
Britain’s obsession with having the newest of the new cell phones means that 10 million cells are dumped every year. And where do they go? One solution is envirophone—a company that will pay you for your old cell as well as making a donation to a charity of choice. You get paid according to the model of phone, which you can check on their website and then just drop yours in the mail. In return, you have the option of getting hard cash or credit at Argos, the U.K.’s largest catalogue shopping chain. The link-up with Argos is interesting because it is one of the biggest retailers of cells. The obsolete phones are re-used wherever possible in areas around the world which need them. These places usually have a poor landline infrastructure which creates a demand for the type of mobile technology that we have surpassed. If the phones cannot be re-used, they are recycled in an environmentally friendly way by an approved recycling company. Other charitable efforts to encourage recycling include the planting of a tree as part of a forestry project for every donated cell phone (see Treehugger). :: envirofone via :: engadget mobile
Another option is to recycle your phones to benefit SustainUS, the US youth network for sustainable development. In parternship with CollectiveGood, a Basel Action Network responsible e-waste recycler, SustainUS is collecting phones as its first fundraiser. http://collectivegood.com/donate2.asp?CHid=330
Hello,
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Treeofprosperity.com, Co-Creator
www.treeofprosperity.com
info@treeofprosperity.com
A pre-paid envelope to send a used cell phone to a donation service that (apparently) gives them to soldiers overseas was included with my most recent Amazon.com order. I happened to have an old phone that still worked great so I sent it in.
We've just launched a profit comparison site which tells you the best place to recycle your phone in the UK. It lists all of the options and the prices that each company is willing to pay for your phone.
It no surprise that companies like envirofone in the UK have become interested in mobile phone recycling. In Japan Eco-System Recycling have found that a ton of discarded mobile phones can produce up to 150 grams of gold, whereas ore from a gold mine produces on average 5 grams per ton.