Cash for Recycling your mobile
Every hour in the United Kingdom over two thousand mobiles are bought. And every hour over two thousand mobile phones are discarded in favour of the newest model and this renders the old mobile completely useless, or does it? Old mobile phones are not as useless as people might think, even if they’re broken, physically or enternally, they can still hold some value. Many companies can make good use of old mobiles buy either reconditioning them for resale or ‘smelting’ them for the precious metals (such as gold and platinum) they contain. Depending on the condition, age and make of your old mobile, a mobile phone recycling company will pay between one and one hundred pounds for it.
A few years ago recycling your mobile phone in return for a cash sum was relatively unheard of, but today, in the current economic climate, this new phenomenon is becoming very popular. But some people still have doubts and are questioning mobile phone recycling schemes. The question people are asking is: is it really worth recycling my mobile? What will I get out of it? The answer is money and green points for your conscience.
In the interest of your own personal safety and security, mobile phone companies do ask that you ‘wipe’ your phone before sending it in for recycling.
Step One: To stop any potential fraud on your phone contract end your contract with your mobile phone network.
Step Two: Delete all your personal data from your phone. This means all number, pictures, music and videos. You may have to delete all your files one by one, depending on your phone’s make but most phones have functions that enabled you to clear chunks of data at once. Some mobile phone companies even offer free advice on how to do this.
Step Three: Again, to prevent fraud, remove the sim card from your mobile phone and destroy it (but only if you’re not planning on using it again).
Once you’ve cleared your old mobile of all personal details, you can start the process of recycling your old mobile.
Today most mobile phone recycling companies are internet based and these websites find out the price your phone is worth by asking you to input the make and condition of your old phone. They will then send you a freepost envelope or sticker so you can send your mobile away for recycling. Most recycling companies provide a freepost padded envelope as it is important that the phone reaches the company safely. Remember though, that if you choose a company that only offers a freepost sticker then you will have to pay the cost of a padded envelope. Before choosing one company it is worth doing some research of at least three mobile phone recycling companies to see who will offer the best price for your mobile and what kind of postage they’re offering, if they’re offering it at all.
If your mobile is really old (five years plus) you will receive a lot less money for it as recycling companies can do less with it. If it is broken, it’ll be smelted down but if it’s working it will probably be reconditioned as a ‘999 alarm’. The reasoning for more recent phones being worth more is that they can be sold on a lot easier after reconditioning. For example if you sell an iPhone, even if it isn’t the latest model, it will still be worth over £50 (even if it is broken) as the iPhone is a very recent release. It will be reconditioned and the company will sell it on, either in the UK or abroad for reuse
