Green Living: What You Can Do with Your Old Cell Phone

Nowadays, it is hard to find someone that does not have a cell phone. So with all of these people walking around with them, how many of these phones are actually disposed of properly? Many of these cell phones most likely end up sitting in the landfill. The materials that cell phones are made of can actually be very harmful to the environment. Instead of throwing them out, there are several other eco-friendly alternatives.

Donate your phone to cellphonesforsoldiers.com

When you send in your old phone, they sell it to a company that recycles them and in turn, takes the money that they get and buys calling cards that they give to troops. You can either send in the phone or bring it to a drop off point. Not only do you do some good for the environment, but you do some good for our military as well.

Sell it

There are many places that you can sell your old cell phone. You can bring it to a pawnshop or sell it on an online auction site. You can also sell it to a site such as gazelle.com, which pays you for the cell phone that you no longer want. If they cannot buy it from you, they will still recycle it if you send it to them.

Keep it as a backup phone

Too many times a cell phone ends up in the toilet or gets dropped and smashed into bits. This means that you now have to run and get a new replacement phone. Instead of tossing your old phone that is in good condition, hold onto it and use it if your current one breaks.

Donate your cell to victims of domestic violence

When you donate your old phone to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, you could be saving a life. Your phone goes to the victims of domestic violence for them to use in emergencies. When you go to ncadv.org, you can print out a prepaid mailing label so you can send your phone in.

Give it to someone

If you know someone that cannot afford a new cell phone, consider giving him or her your old one. It can give them the opportunity to have their own phone without the expense of having to buy it. Another alternative is to pass along our old cell phone for your child to use until you feel that he or she is ready for a brand new one.

Before releasing your cell phone out of your possession, you must make sure that you delete all of your numbers, photographs and personal information out of it. Call the company to deactivate it and make sure there can be no problem in the future.

With all of the cell phones that people will go through in a lifetime, it is much better to figure out an eco-friendly alternative to throwing them in the trash. Recycling old phones cannot only be better for the environment, but it can make you feel better as well knowing that you did your part to make this a more eco-friendly world.

Sources:
cellphonesforsoldiers.com
gazelle.com
ncadv.org