In the current economic climate the recycling of mobile phones in return for a cash payment is becoming very popular. However, some people are still sceptical. The question is, is it really worth recycling your mobile? The answer is it depends on how much money you think is worth it.

Over 2000 mobiles are purchased in the UK every hour and consumers are constantly upgrading to the newest, most up to date mobile which renders the old mobile useless. But these old mobile phones are not useless as they might seem, they still have some value, and there are companies that will make good use of them. These companies either sell old mobiles on or scrap them and retrieve the precious metals which are then melted down and sold on further. Mobile phone recyclers pay anything from £5 to £100 for old mobile phones depending on age, make and condition.

The older the mobile phone, the less money you will get for recycling it. This is because the older the technology, the less recycling companies can do with it. Newer phones, such as the iPhone can be sold on to other buyers (assuming that the phone is in a good condition) and therefore you will receive more money for it. Some companies even sell old mobiles abroad for reuse.

Before recycling your mobile phone there a few steps you need to take. All of these are in the interest of your own personal safety and security.

Firstly: If you are on a contract then make sure you have ended the contract with your mobile phone provider. This is to stop any potential fraud.

Secondly: Clear your mobile phone’s memory. Depending on your mobile’s make, this could as easy as removing its memory card but you may have to go through all your files manually and delete them one by one. Most mobile phones have a function that allows you to clear large amounts of data (such as numbers, pictures and music) in one fell swoop.

Thirdly: If your mobile phone has a sim card, remove the sim card and (if you are not planning to reuse it in another phone) cut it up. Again this is to combat any type of fraud should your sim card fall into the wrong hands.

After these steps have been taken you can now go ahead with recycling your mobile phone. Most companies are internet based which means they are easily accessible for most people. The websites work by asking you to input the make and condition of your old phone, from there they can work out a price. It is worth looking at two or more sites to see who will give you the best price for your old mobile as offers do vary. Something else to bear in mind is the cost of the postage, will they offer freepost or will you have to pay?

Most companies now offer freepost when it comes to you sending your old phone away. This ranges from a freepost envelope to a freepost sticker. Remember though that if you go for a company who will only send you a freepost sticker, then you will have to pay for the price of the packaging, most companies ask that you send your old mobile in a padded envelope to prevent any damage occurring during postage.

So you’ve signed up to a mobile phone recycling company and you’re all ready to send your old mobile in for recycling but you want to know one more thing... what will happen to your mobile phone when it is recycled? Your mobile phone will be either be refurbished or recycled...

Mobile Phones may be Refurbished

A phone is generally refurbished if it is in complete working condition already. By refurbishing this means that if the casing is scratched or the screen cracked, it will be replaced. Performance tests will also be performed on the phone to check that the components inside are working properly.

Once the phone has been refurbished it is then sold on. The first group of people that buy refurbished mobile phones are charities:

Give Old Phones to Charities

 Charities buy refurbished mobile phones and donate them (sometimes for a very small fee) to organisations in developing countries such as Delhi, Ethiopia and Malawi. These organisations then either give the refurbished mobiles away for free or sell them on for a small price. As the mobile phone coverage in developing countries grows, so does the business of refurbished mobile phones.

Charities in the UK also make use of refurbished mobile phones. The charity ‘phones for safety’ turns old mobiles into reconditioned ‘999 only’ phones. These ‘999 only’ phones work as personal alarms which enabled victims of stalking or domestic abuse to reach the police on a direct line by pressing any button on the phone.

There are some charities that accept old mobiles but do not offer cash in return. Many charities are given old mobiles which they then sell on to be stripped of the useful components such as gold, platinum, silver and copper which are then sold to make money for the charity. A typical mobile phone can make around £5 for charity.

Mobile Phone Networks Recycle Old Mobile Phones

Some mobile phone networks buy reconditioned mobile phones and sell them on to customers who are after a fully functioning phone for a lesser price than a new handset would cost. These reconditioned phones are often phones that have suffered ‘cosmetic’ damage such as a cracked screen. Whilst the original customer gets a new phone, the old phone gets its screen replaced and is sold onto a new customer for a discounted price.

Scrapping Old Phones for Recycling

There’s money in scrap elements and many mobile phone recycling companies take advantage of this. Mobile phones contain many precious elements and compounds, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Titanium and Copper to name but a few. All these metals can me melted down and used again in new mobile phones and other electronic gadgets such as Ipods and digital cameras. There is an average of 0.2gms of gold in each mobile phone, if you total how much gold there would be in 1000 mobile phones that actually equals quite a profitable amount of gold.

With mobile phone recycling becoming big business, mobile phone recycling companies are cropping up everywhere. All these mobile phone recycling companies are easily accessible via the internet and some now even starting up their own television advertisement campaigns to reach a wider audience. Here is a list of what is considered the top five companies to recycle your mobile phone with:

Probably one of the oldest mobile phone companies, Mazuma has been up and running for about five years. In 2008 they recycled about 400,000 unwanted mobiles. The selling process with Mazuma Mobile is in three easy steps. 1. Enter the make and model of your mobile. 2. Post your mobile to Mazuma. 3. Receive payment via cheque in the post. Mazuma Mobile is rated by consumers as five stars out of five.

Envirofone have been running since 2006 and it is estimated that in the first year of running it paid out £6 million to customers recycling their mobile phones. Envirofone accept both working and broken mobiles and allow you to recycle more than one mobile phone at a time. Envirofone pays for the postage of you old mobile by sending you a freepost envelope. Rated four out of five stars.

Mobile Phone Xchange works in the same way as Envirofone but their payment method is different. They use the ‘BACS’ system, which means that the money from your old mobile will be sent directly to your bank account. They accept working and broken mobiles and also offer freepost (although there is the option to use your own envelope). Rated four out of five stars.

Mopay is part of a company called ShP Ltd. ShP Ltd are a big name in online mobile phone recycling and also own some other mobile phone recycling companies. Mopay have a number of payment options, a BACS bank transfer (3 days), Cheque (7 Days), a "Payoffline" option where users are emailed a code that can be taken to the Post Office, where payment can be collected (3 days) as well as vouchers for popular high street stores such as Top Shop, Top Shop, Miss Selfridge and Marks and Spencers; worth considering if you plan on going shopping for clothes! Mopay accept both broken and working phones and provide a freepost address. Rated four out of five stars.

Earth Mobile have been a phone recycling company for four years for corporate clients, they are now opening up their services to the public. The accept both broken and working phone and provide postage (although you have to request postage as Earth Mobile suggests that you use your own already recycled envelopes and ‘go green’) Payment is by cheque and takes 7 days. Rated four out of five stars.

There are many reasons you should recycle your mobile phone. The first being that you will benefit from it, not only from the money you receive, but from knowing that your discarded mobile phone is not doing any damage to the environment by languishing in landfill sites.

When you read the instructions on a packet of batteries, it always says to dispose of the batteries properly after use as everyone knows that batteries contain nasty environment damaging chemicals. Just like batteries (and most electronic devices) mobile phones are exactly the same and contain some materials that could cause damage to the environment. The most damaging chemicals found in mobile phones are hidden in the battery as well as the circuit board. And seeing as most broken discarded mobile phones are broken because of the battery, throwing them into a landfill site is criminal! In my opinion, mobile phones should also come with a guide to safe disposal.

Currently, the WEEE (waste electrical or electronic equipment) regulations state that all mobile phone companies are obliged to take back any old mobile phones, cables and charging ports for recycling when a customer buys a new mobile. Although this rule is relatively unknown, most of the main mobile companies, such as Orange and Virgin, have brought in an ‘old for new’ style recycling scheme. They simply ask that the consumer sends their old mobile directly to them or to a mobile phone recycling company, when they buy a new phone.

Apart from the environmental benefits, don’t forget that you will also benefit by receiving a sum of money. The younger your mobile phone, the more money you are likely to receive for it. So if for example you bought an Iphone and now you’re upgrading to an Iphone 3G, you can get £100 for the older Iphone to put towards your Iphone 3G. The old Iphone will then be reconditioned and sold to another consumer so its life goes one! And you won’t be responsible for any damaging chemicals seeping into the environment and causing harm to animals and plants. And you need not worry about postage costs either, as most mobile phone recycling companies pay for postage and postage materials for you.

Now you’ve decided you want to sell your old mobile phone for cash here’s what you need to know about the selling process:

Choosing a Company to Sell To

There are over 30 companies that will buy your old mobile phone for cash, the trick is just to choose the right one! The way to choose a company is to shop around. My advice is to compare the prices for your particular phone on at least five different sites and then choose the one offering the most money. Some companies also offer vouchers in exchange for an old mobile, for example, ‘Mazuma Mobile’ offer £100 cash for a working Iphone but you can also get your cash in Argos vouchers, offered at £110. It is definatley worth looking around at what companies offer what vouchers because if you’re going to use the vouchers then you might as well get the extra money offered through them!

Another deciding factor will be postage charges. Most mobile phone recycling companies offer free postage and will send you the means you need to send your mobile phone to the company. The norm is for the company to send you a pre-printed padded envelope which you then send via a post office free of charge as the postage costs have already been paid. However some companies offering ‘free postage’ only offer a free postage sticker. This means that the actual postage is paid for but the cost of the padded envelope is not. You will have to buy this yourself. Some companies don’t offer free postage at all and you’ll have to pay for that yourself. The cost of sending a mobile phone, first class in a padded postbag is around £5 so not a huge amount but you can avoid this cost but seeking out the companies that will pay it for you.

Another perk that is available is a ‘free mobile data delete tool’. This is an online service which gives instructions on how to clear all personal information from your phone quickly, easily and hassle free.

What Model of Phone do you want to sell?

Once you’ve chosen the company you want to recycle your phone with, input the make and model of your mobile into their website. This will then tell you how much that particular company will pay for the phone.

Posting Your Mobile Phone

If the company is giving you freepost then you will receive a freepost envelope in the mail. Then simply drop your old mobile into the freepost bag and post it at any post office.

Your Phone is Checked

Once your old mobile has reached the recycling company it will be checked to see if it is working or not and that the model is what you already stated it was.

Receiving Cash for your Mobile Phone

If everything is okay with the mobile then you’ll receive your payment but cheque in the post.

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