Mobile Phone Recycling Statistics and FAQ

About mobile phone recycling and recycling old mobile phones for cash.

The term "Mobile Phone Recycling" has been well and truly coined. With the popularity of mobile phones came something we never really cared about so much at the start. What would happen to all of the old mobile phones? The ones that are replaced with newer models every year. What was supposed to happen to them after their life had ended? What were we supposed to do with them? Throw them away? No ones ever truly been told and a lot of people are still in the dark ages when it comes to recycling.

Old mobile phones have become noticed and are now an issue. They have worked out some statistics on mobile phones and the results are not good. But they have also worked out that recycling all mobile phones will have a massive helping effect on the earths environment.

Let's look at some mobile phone statistics.

They say on average every home in the western civilization has at least 2 mobile phones lying around somewhere. One being used and one old one. But the figures are probably higher and are certainly raising! If there are indeed at least 2 mobile phones in every home that works out at about 80 million unused mobiles! That's too many mobile phones to end up in a landfill site only to just sit there never biodegrading and polluting the planet with the harmful and hazardous materials they contain.

Because of this there is a market for recycling mobile phones. Companies have formed that can recycle old mobile phones. They can put mobile phones through a recycling process extracting the precious metals found from inside the mobile phones such as Gold, Silver, Copper and more. All these precious metals can be smelted down and refined and used again in brand new things. Things that include anything from mobile phones to jewelery

How mobile phone recycling works.

When a mobile phone is recycled it normally goes through a number of checks. First a mobile phone recycling company will receive the phone and test it and check the condition it is in. If the phone is in good working condition it can be refurbished and resold on again. Often sold in poorer third world countries where people can't afford expensive mobile phones. If the phone is in a bad condition but some parts inside may still work OK. It may be dismantled and those serviceable and salvageable parts used with working parts from other mobile phones to make up a working phone that can then be sold on. If the phone doesn't work and or is beyond repair and can't be resold it will be then be sent for recycling and recycled. The phone will literally be dismantled and the precious metals inside stripped and extracted and used again to make the components needed in making mobile phones. Such as the circuit boards.

Why you should recycle mobile phones.

According to a study done by market intelligence firm iSuppli Corporation in 2007. 36.8% stored their mobile phones in their drawers. 10.2% threw their mobiles away or declared them as lost or stolen. And only 9.4% recycled their used or old mobile phones. In actual numbers that's 10 million mobile phones rotting away in our country's landfills and 37 million phones gathering dust in peoples drawers - and that's from 2007 alone!

Mobile phones are made of toxic metals like Cadmium, Lead, Nickel, Mercury, Beryllium, Manganese, Lithium, Zinc, Arsenic, and Copper. Like other electronic devices in their circuit boards and batteries and they contain such harmful heavy metals like Lead, Mercury and Cadmium. Dangerous chemicals like Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are also found in the plastic casing of most mobile phones. According to Dr. Anne Marie Helmenstine, author and leading authority in biomedical sciences. Lead has been found to cause development problems in children and diminishes brain functions even in adults. Cadmium exposure can lead to "liver and irreversible kidney problems, (often fatal) respiratory and bone density problems. Compounds containing cadmium are also carcinogenic."

Most of our landfills today are scientifically designed to contain any chemicals that leak from the solid waste such as from mobile phones but it is not guaranteed that mobile phones and other electronic devices we so carelessly throw away will not leak chemicals into our food and water supplies. The likelihood of these dangerous and deadly chemicals seeping into our water systems is just too high. By dumping mobile phones and other electronic devices in our landfills we are practically poisoning ourselves.

Can money be made from recycling mobile phones?

Yes. Mobile phone recycling can actually be quite lucrative depending on the level you are on. You can make money by selling and recycling your old mobile phones to a mobile phone recycling service like Sell Old Phone who are the UK's top paying mobile phone recycler. Or see reviews of other mobile phone recyclers and compare their differences on the Sell Your Mobile site. The mobile phone recycling service will either refurbish and resell the phone on for profit or scrap it and use the working parts to make up a working mobile phone. Or it will be completely recycled and be broken down and have its precious metals extracted.

Selling your mobile phone to a mobile phone recycling service is free fast and useful for people who don't have access to selling it any other way. The other good thing about it is that you can help the environment at the same time as getting some cash back for your old mobile.