you are strapped for cash but still want to recycle your phone, you
could always try eBay. However there are also a number of businesses
that offer to buy back used phones. Two of them have proven trustworthy
enough over time to consider this solution. Cell for Cash and Old Cell Phone
both refurbish phones for resale either in regions of North America
where that handset is still in demand or in other countries. They don't
always offer much money for many of the handsets, which is why you
still may choose to donate your phone to charity in the end. Remember,
the Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised millions of dollars from the
sale of $1 yellow bands, so imagine how much your phone's value is
helping a charity.
Why?
Whatever you do, please don't throw that old cell phone away, no matter
how old and busted it is. Like many other modern electronic devices,
phones contain circuits boards, batteries and LCD that each contain a
number of harmful materials in them. When phones are dumped in
landfills, these elements eventually break down and leech out into the
environment. Lead, Cadmium and Mercury pollution could potentially
cause deadly side effects and are the primary reason why states like
California have made cell phone recycling mandatory for any retailers
that sell mobile phones. Sadly, the heaps of obsolete computer
equipment have a greater negative impact on the environment than
phones, so we encourage you to look into recycling old CPUs and
monitors as well as your handsets.
There is an even deadlier
reason why it is critical that old phones don't get tossed away- people
are literally dying for them. The legacy of "blood diamonds" is well
known, however the fact that a similar arrangement exists to mine
coltan (Columbium Tantalum) is lesser known. Tantalum is a
superconductor, one of the best on Earth. It is used to coat capacitors
to help them create more power from less energy so that your cell phone
no longer needs a battery larger than the phone itself. In war torn
central Africa, people are forced into modern day slavery to mine this
rare element, which is then sold to fund the wars in this region.
Recently the majority of Tantalum production has shifted to Australia,
however it is a rare element, so decreasing demand helps decrease the
likelihood that manufacturers will turn to African supplies.
Sadly,
it is very difficult to reclaim Tantalum once it has been manufactured
into an electronic component. Because of this, and these other
environmental factors, we strongly recommend that no matter how you
choose to get rid of your phone, you donate it to an organization that
will make all efforts to re-use it rather than simply "safely
disposing" of it. Luckily current economics dictate that it is more
lucrative to refurbish phones rather than safely recycle them.
BY Carrier
he easy solution
Despite the fact that California's
mandatory recycling law doesn't go into effect for another 18 months,
and most other states have no such law, every major national carrier
accepts all phones, and usually accessories, chargers and batteries at
each of their retail stores. If you don't care where your phone or the
money made from it is going, just drop it off at the closest
carrier-owned store, or leave your old model there when you buy a new
handset. They each accept phones, as well as batteries and accessories.
In addition, Staples and other stores offer supplies for recycling your
phones by sending them into companies like Collective Good and
ReCellular.
If you care where your phone, or where the money
from it goes, then you should take some time to learn what your carrier
does, or if you feel another organization could better benefit from
your handset.
Nextel
If you are a Nextel customer, it behooves you to make the extra effort and return your phone via the Nextel Buyback program.
They are the only carrier who actually offers subscribers money for
many models of their handsets. The company makes all efforts to take
those handsets and reuse them, but handsets which Nextel cannot
refurbish, along with those from other carriers are recycled and the
money from them is donated to the American Red Cross Armed Forces
Emergency Services program. This Red Cross program is helps to contact
troops and get them in touch with their families if there is an
emergency back home in the US.
Nextel's program has been wildly
successful, at least compared to most other carriers, even ones larger
than Nextel. The company collected 1.4 million handsets in 2003 alone.
No other carrier claimed to have collected that many over the lifetime
of their recycling programs through the end of 2003. Nextel had already
collected 1.5 million handsets to recycle by October of this year, the
most recent date statistics are available.
Cingular
Cingular
has from time to time offered rebates for subscribers who return an old
GSM handset when upgrading to a new model. Even without rebates, they
encourage subscribers to recycle old handsets, asking for them when
they upgrade in the store or sending return mailers if the upgrade is
by mail. Like Nextel, Cingular will make attempts to refurbish older
handsets returned to them and will even use certain refurbished models
as phones for pre-paid customers. Cingular also donates a number of
handsets to Donate a Phone, which distributes handsets with emergency
service to battered women. Handsets that are refurbished or donated
from Cingular or any other carrier are recycled.
The Rest
T-Mobile,
Sprint and Verizon all use ReCellular to recycle the phones dropped off
at their stores. ReCellular prepares donated phones for resale in Latin
America by either refurbishing phones in good condition or using them
for parts. Phones that are hopeless are recycled as much as possible
and the rest is safely disposed of. ReCellular tracks the proceeds from
each phone donates them to a charity the carrier chooses.
T-Mobile
donates their proceeds to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Currently that fund has been helping victims of this year's series of
hurricanes across Florida. They were even thoughtful enough to recently
mail out a reminder letting their subscribers know they accept phone
donations at every store.
Like Cingular, Sprint also
participates in the Donate a Phone a program, which distributes phones
to battered women. Proceeds that come from phones sent by Sprint to
ReCellular are donated to Easter Seals and the National Organization on
Disability, which is dedicated to helping people with disabilities
participate in society more more fully.
Verizon also uses
donations to help battle domestic violence, however not simply through
the Donate a Phone program. Instead Verizon uses all the proceeds from
recycling to fund it calls HopeLine, which distributes money to
domestic violence prevention and education efforts through various
groups.
BY charity Destination Matters
If you want to be sure your phone or
the proceeds from it goes directly to a specific charity, whether it's
one a carrier already sponsors or not, you can donate your phone to the
Donate a Phone program or to the two primary phone recyclers in
America, Collective Good and ReCellular. Nearly every charity that
accepts cell phone donations uses one of these two entities, and
between the two there are a large number of worthwhile causes to choose
from.
ReCellular refurbishes phones for resale in Latin
America, but GSM is sorely under-represented there (except for in
Brazil). So if you're donating a GSM phone, especially a triband one,
please check to see if Collective Good has a charity you'd like to
support. They send phones to Eastern Europe and India as well, where
GSM 900/1800 is the primary cellular protocol.
Donate a Phone
If
you want to be sure your phone is given to a domestic violence victim
as a lifeline, The Wireless Foundation offers you the option to
directly contribute your phone to the Call to Protect
program. There are collection centers around the US, or you can mail
your phone, charger and spare batteries directly to the organization.
Collective Good
Collective Good simplifies donating your phone to a specific charity by providing a form and shipping container, available online
or at your local Staples store. Simply check off a charity, put your
phone, charger and accessories in the mail, and you'll receive a
charitable donation form for your tax deduction.
ReCellular
ReCellular
allows the location where you drop off your phone, whether it be a
carrier store or other retail establishment, to choose where the
proceeds from your phone are donated. Their public website, Wireless Recycling,
has a list of locations and which charity donations at that location
will support. If there is no nearby location for your charity, you can
send your phone directly to ReCellular in order to support that cause.
charity of one If you are strapped for cash but still want to recycle your phone, you
could always try eBay. However there are also a number of businesses
that offer to buy back used phones. Two of them have proven trustworthy
enough over time to consider this solution. Cell for Cash and Old Cell Phone
both refurbish phones for resale either in regions of North America
where that handset is still in demand or in other countries. They don't
always offer much money for many of the handsets, which is why you
still may choose to donate your phone to charity in the end. Remember,
the Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised millions of dollars from the
sale of $1 yellow bands, so imagine how much your phone's value is
helping a charity.
