Mobile phone recycling is very common practice in the UK now. Whilst it might conjure up images of people melting down old phones to create brand new ones, the actual process that happens is slightly different.
There are currently more mobile phones in the UK than there are people and part of the idea of the current drive by many companies to recycle mobile phones is to take phones that aren’t being used and give them a use rather than letting them find their way into rubbish dumps.
So what happens when you sell your mobile on? Well, on a superficial level, you simply find a dedicated website, type in the make and model and find out exactly how much it is worth. Usually, the amount you can stand to make from selling it on is quite significant. You receive a freepost envelope, send it off, and have money in your bank within a few days. Even phones that don’t work can be worth a surprising amount of money as their components are often still valuable commodities.
Most of the time, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. So is this a scam?
Not if you use the right company. There are a number of extremely reputable companies out there who will have great reviews, so ensure you choose the right one. And while it might sound like some dodgy deal, like where you take your phone down to a shop and get a bit of cash for it in exchange for turning the other cheek to the fact the buyer is probably going to use it for nefarious means, when you recycle mobile phones, the result is much more ethical. Many use the phones for much more philanthropic means. For instance when you sell your mobile to Mazuma, they are redistributed in bulk to developing countries.
So recycling is not only good for your wallet, it’s also very good for the world too.