How to recycle/reuse old smartphones?
But what do you do with a serviceable but outdated gadget? Rather than relegate an old phone to a corner, consider reusing, recycling
It’s natural to get the phone-upgrade itch when the likes of Apple, Samsung and others keep coming out with newer models. And sometimes your old phone is just kaput.
But what do you do with a serviceable but outdated gadget? Rather than relegate an old phone to a desk drawer, also consider reusing, recycling or reselling it. Of course, there’s also the option to donate.
Here’s a guide for figuring out what you might do with last year’s model (or even older smartphone models). CHARITY DONATION Several charities accept old phones as a donation. But these groups probably won’t physically give your old phones to people in need. Instead, they’ll often sell your phone to recyclers and keep the money. Non-profit groups like Cell Phones for Soldiers will take your “gently used” phone and sell it to a recycling company. It will then use the proceeds to buy international calling cards for soldiers so they can talk to loved ones back home. SELL SELL SELL Once new models come out, older ones will flood onto eBay and other resale sites, so it might make sense to wait a little. How much money you can make off your old phone depends on the brand and how much wear and tear it’s seen. EBay is a bit more complicated. If you’re already a seller in good standing and meet certain standards, you may qualify for what they call is a “price guarantee ”. Otherwise, eBay says you can get $280 through the company’s “quick sale” program as well. REUSE, REPURPOSE Even without cellular service, you old phone will be able to get on WiFi, so you can use it to stream music, post on Facebook or do pretty much anything else you want provided you are in Wi-Fi range. Keep it for yourself, give it to a broke friend, or load it up with kid-friendly apps and games and hand it down to your children. Or just keep it as a backup in case something horrible happens to your main phone. An old phone can tide you over until you can manage repairs or get a replacement. WHAT UPGRADE? Of course, there’s no rule saying you must upgrade your phone each year, as much as manufacturers would like you to. Is your phone still working? Could you get that cracked screen fixed, free up memory, and clean accumulated lint in the charging or headphone port? You can try a toothpick or use canned air, but be careful using something metal — you could damage your phone. Then you’d really have to upgrade. — AP