Five ways to get rid of your old phone

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With so many shiny new handsets coming out each year, many mobile phones get chucked to the side. Indeed, new research suggests there are some 50 million phones lying around unused in the UK.

Rather than chuck them into landfills, where their chemicals and metals can pollute the planet, they can be easily reused and recycled. As much as 80 per cent of a mobile phone can be recycled, with the metals and plastics recovered and the more valuable components – such as memory, aerials and circuit boards – reused.

But if that green message doesn’t catch your fancy, how about the other green – cash. With the country slip sliding into a recession, a drawer full of old handsets could be your own personal goldmine.

To make any money out of an old handset, it’ll need to be in good working order, still have the charger, and be relatively new, as they’re generally refurbished and resold in developing countries.

So if you’ve only splurged on a new iPhone because your old pay-as-you-go brick has bitten the dust, you likely won’t make any cash, but could still earn some funding for a charity.

So round up your old phones - or better yet, hold an old handset amnesty and round up those of your friends, family and co-workers, while you're at it.

But no matter what method of disposal you choose, remember to clear any personal details first – you don’t need the new owners dropping you a text.

Sell it

If your mobile phone still works and is new enough to be in demand, you can always chuck it up on eBay. There are rules against selling a phone that’s still locked into contract, however, so be sure you’re not breaking any laws.

But if you’re not up for the hassle of online auction houses, there are other ways. Websites such as FoneBank, Envirophone and Mobile Phone Xchange all offer cash for your old phones – and some good cash too, up to £150 on some sites, if it’s a high-end phone.

On Envirophone, a Nokia N95 would return £139.94, but many phones aren’t worth more than a few quid.

Sell it… for food

If you can’t be bothered dealing with such middle-men, just head to Tesco and trade it for food. The supermarket giant – which also has its own mobile service – has a handset recycling service. Like the aforementioned trade-in sites, you get a different amount of money depending on the handset you have, but you’re paid in vouchers for the store or airtime on their network… and you get Tesco GreenClub points, too.

A Nokia N95 would come out to £145 in vouchers, plus 300 points. That’s a lot of budget ready meals, that is.

Donate it

Pick the charity of your choice – anyone from Oxfam to schools take phones for recycling, keeping the cash they make from reselling or recycling the gadget to fund their good work. If you’re not sure who to send it to, Recycle Your Mobile and Recycle Appeal will handle the work for you.

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