What Do You Do with Your Old Cellphone?

@celticeagle (159227)
Boise, Idaho
April 10, 2024 2:51pm CST
Nowadays we all need to be finding ways to help the environment. We need to do things to save energy, conserve water, and recycle. When we go to upgrade our cell phones we need to recycle old cell phones also to extend the life cycle of products. Over 1 billion cell phones are sold around the world each year. The recycling rate in the United States is only 38.5% currently. Over 100 million cell phones are thrown away in the United States each year. These devices are made of such things as plastic LCD displays, and crude oil, and the batteries are made of lithium. For every 1 million that are recycled, we can recover 772 pounds of silver, 35,274 pounds of copper, 33 pounds of palladium, and 75 pounds of gold. When a phone is ready to be replaced you can take it into a professional facility. Be sure to save energy waste by trading in your phone or calling where you got the phone originally to see where to take it.
13 people like this
14 responses
@RebeccasFarm (86780)
• United States
10 Apr
That is a great reminder thanks Celt. Usually I just keep mine for a few years or try to give it to someone that needs.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
10 Apr
My grandson has used the last couple of phones for different things.
1 person likes this
• United States
10 Apr
@celticeagle He is a smart lad.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
11 Apr
@RebeccasFarm .......He amazes me. It's like having a private tech. Of course he doesn't know everything but, does have a lot of knowledge about things.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85645)
• United States
10 Apr
I give them to my dad because he knows someone who recycles them. Except my very first cell phone. I hung on to that for nostalgia sake.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
10 Apr
That's cool.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458583)
• Switzerland
11 Apr
I bring to the recycling center.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
That's good.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Apr
@LadyDuck .......I wonder if that is the way it is here. Haven't heard of it if it is.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458583)
• Switzerland
17 Apr
@celticeagle It is mandatory here. All electric and electronic stuff must be brought back to a store that sells those items. If you "throw" in the garbage and they find out it was you, you get a fine up to $ 1,000
1 person likes this
@just4him (306704)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
11 Apr
I never recycled it. I also haven't thrown them away. I still have my old phone, two of them now. I don't know why I didn't get rid of them.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
Something to think about.
1 person likes this
@just4him (306704)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Apr
@celticeagle Yes, it is.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (156584)
• United States
11 Apr
We still have our old phones. We should find out where to take them. Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
One less thing to stack up over time.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (156584)
• United States
17 Apr
@celticeagle That's for sure.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28779)
18 Apr
I am on a phone plan with my oldest son and his family, so there are 5 people on the plan. When we are eligible for an upgrade, the person with the oldest phone gets that. Since that phone they are replacing is still a good phone, we disconnect and save that one. So there is almost always one extra phone to fall back on, this has proven to be a good plan for our family to have a back up. We have occasionally sold a working phone or traded it in for another, but it's always good to have one spare that actually works--at least it is for us.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Apr
Sounds like that is working for you. I want to make sure my phone has all the info taken off before I would sell it. Nice to make some extra money that way.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Apr
@MarieCoyle .........Yes, indeed. Safety is the keyword. Now days you have to be careful.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28779)
18 Apr
@celticeagle Yes, you clear it out completely beforehand. And if you sell it online, you meet up somewhere public. Whenever I do sell something online, which I haven't done much of lately at all, we have a place to park at our local PD complete with cameras, marked just for people who are having a transaction. This keeps it all much safer.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (45527)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
10 Apr
Well, since this is my first cell phone and I've only had it for 14 months, I can't answer your question.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
Okay.
1 person likes this
@May2k8 (18094)
• Indonesia
22 Apr
in my country it is considered rubbish, because it is very difficult for people to recycle it. I still have my old phone.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
22 Apr
Interesting.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (57909)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
11 Apr
I upbrade before I need to, and hang on to my old phone until It's beyond useable.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
My grandson will figure ours out.
• United States
11 Apr
My old phones I recycled them. Now (the ones that are smart phones) I still keep them around and use them for bluetooth for my music, or to search the internet or use to take pictures, random stuff.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
That's what my grandson does.
@thelme55 (76484)
• Germany
11 Apr
I have given my old iPhone to my brother. Her daughter is using it now.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
Your brother is a she?
@pitsipeahie (4292)
10 Apr
I sell mine to businesses that buys old or second hand phones and gadgets.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
10 Apr
It would be nice to make some $$ from these expensive devices.
1 person likes this
@apsmine9 (306)
11 Apr
This reminds me I have to collect my old phones that I had given for repair.
1 person likes this
@anggunwk (69)
11 Apr
I just keep it as a memory. Here, I don't know where to recycle, maybe there isn't one at all
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159227)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Apr
At the store where you got it.