How many of us have old
mobile phones hanging around in drawers or cupboards at home, that we once
had plans for, but which now simply languish, forgotten and gathering dust? I've just put my own hand up, here, remembering at least two of these old relics, seething with
evil chemicals and chock-full of recyclable parts, that have just been lying around
'while I made a decision on what to do with them', and I've simply got busy and
forgotten all about them. Now those old
phones of mine (and probably yours as well!) are more or less obsolete, so of no
real use as devices fit for modern-day purpose, as far as most users would want.
But don't worry - that doesn't mean they can't find another, responsible
destiny...
Most of us know that mobile
phones have a rough shelf life of two good years, maximum, so its not long before they are replaced, which means that there are an awful lot just lying around. They also contain a variety of components, such as plastics and metals -
some of which are potentially valuable and reusable, such as silver. While that phone lying there at the back of
the drawer probably won't make you rich with its silver content, it does have
value in any number of ways, to other people if not to you. Charities such as Oxfam and the Red Cross
will accept old phones, as they can get money for them when they send them to
phone recyclers. Friends or family can
often be grateful for the temporary use of an "old" mobile phone that
still works, if they've broken or lost their own and are awaiting a
replacement. I had a friend come over to
stay with me from another country, so she was able to borrow my old phone on a PAYG
plan while she was here that worked out a lot cheaper than the international
roaming plan she was on from her own country.
Working phones can be sold
on eBay or via the various second hand and pawn shops dotted around in most
towns and cities. Your chances of getting the best price are greatly enhanced
if you still have the original box, operating instructions and any dedicated accessories
that make the phone an attractive prospect, such as a spare battery, good
quality earphones, car charger, etc.
Just be aware of what commission you may have to pay in any selling
process before you make the deal. By the
time eBay has taken its commission, you might have ended up with a better price
from a High Street pawn shop!
But what of the phones
that are too old, obsolete, broken, or simply dead for reasons unknown? Sometimes, unless you have insurance, it's
cheaper to buy a new phone than to get an existing one fixed. What's meant to happen to those? You can of
course simply take them to a local household waste and recycling centre and put
them into a designated container, but charity shops (and their beneficiaries) will
be a lot more grateful for the same sort of effort you would make doing that, to be directed towards them instead, to enable them to dispose of the
phones responsibly and derive a little income from doing it.
Well, aside from the
already mentioned charity shops, old dead phones can also be offloaded on freebie
websites, since there's always someone who wants to use them for repair
practice, working on the basis that they do sometimes get lucky, get them
working and make a little profit. The various
internal parts can be valuable to someone who knows what they're doing, for
largely the same reasons. Mobile phones
contain aerials, battery connectors, PCBs (printed circuit boards), connectors
including gold-coated edge contacts on PCBs, ICs (integrated circuits),
keyboards, LCD screens, lenses, microphones, phone housings, screws, SIM card
assemblies and speakers.
When a mobile phone has
dished up all its bits of any value, it is then typically ground up, and all
remaining useful metal content is extracted, including the metal in the battery.
So there's a lot more of value than you first might think. And someone who knows how to get at the
silver, through the dedicated process of extraction, is definitely onto
something and will happily run off into the sunset with that antiquated brick
you used to love! The plastic bits are also
recoverable, and can be re-formulated to be used as various industrial and
domestic mouldings.
The Responsibility
Mobile phone disposal
should never be included in the conventional dumping of household waste. Why?
Because plastic doesn't break down, metals can corrode, and valuable
resources that could have been recycled in any number of positive ways are left
to languish in the earth. Even more importantly,
mobile phones contain some incredibly nasty chemicals such as lead, mercury, bromine, and cadmium. Let's take a
look at these little lovelies that have been nestling nicely next to your ear
for however long...
Lead: research suggests that lead exposure (particularly
in children) leads to growth, hearing and concentration problems, along with headaches,
dizziness, nausea, vomiting, digestive problems, learning disabilities,
antisocial behaviour and even brain damage.
Mercury: long term exposure to mercury can lead to
memory problems, double vision or blindness, tachycardia, hypertension, seizures
and potentially death.
Bromine: bromine poisoning lowers blood pressure and
can lead to brain or permanent kidney damage.
The central nervous system can be affected, and thyroid function can be
impaired, leading to memory problems, learning difficulties and hyperactivity.
Cadmium: compelling research indicates that this well
known carcinogen can also cause lung inflammation, respiratory failure, gene
mutations, DNA breaks and cell transformation, leading to severe and sometimes
fatal birth defects.
So, overall, not the
happiest of lists then, huh? And not the kind of stuff we'd happily be responsible for allowing to seep into places where it could cause real and serious harm...
Left in landfill sites,
and not responsibly recycled, mobile phones can leach these and other toxic chemicals
into the earth, which can find their way into vital water systems and
compromise human and animal health. Not
only is it irresponsible to dispose of mobile phones (and other electronic
items too, such as laptops etc) in such a way, it is also a missed opportunity - to reuse valuable resources
that are finite on our planet.
So even if you've got an
old dinosaur-phone that you don't believe anyone else would want, think again! And, rather than having it sitting there forever
and a day, ageing not-so-gracefully, gurgling away with all its chemicals, attracting
layer upon layer of dust or lying forlornly in a forgotten box somewhere under the
bed, if it's not heavy enough to weigh down a dead body (in those times when
you need that), it probably isn't of any real use to you.
If it has no real resale
value and you need to get rid of it, please do think about your local charity
shop. There's bound to be one, not far
from where you live, that you could drop it into. Charity shops need all the help they can
get. They work hard to help the less
fortunate, and supporting them by donating your old mobile phone does three
significant things: 1) the charity gets a little money for the phone to use to
help its beneficiaries, 2) the components are dealt with safely and appropriately
recycled to avoid harm to health and the environment, and 3) one more old dust
trap is gone from your house!
Disclaimer: The information in this article has been directly derived from online research publications, and no responsibility can be taken for any inaccuracies thus reported.
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