Mobiles for Cash

Mobile phone makers are constantly upgrading the mobiles they offer. This is good news for consumers, who can grab mobile phones with a host of features, everything from cameras that take crystal-clear photos to the ability to surf the Internet. But it’s not necessarily good for the environment; that’s because too few mobile phone users know how easy it is to recycle mobile phones for cash.

There are a large number of private companies that will take used mobile phones and send their former owners cash in return. This requires almost no effort on the part of mobile phone users, and can actually result in a fair amount of extra spending money. Mobile phone users can expect to receive about 50 pounds in exchange for a used mobile phone that is still in working condition.

The problem is, not enough mobile phone users know the basic steps involved in recycling their old phones. According to a recent study by mobile phone maker Nokia, in fact, a full 75 percent of mobile phone owners had no idea how to recycle their unwanted phones.

This explains why the same study found that only 3 percent of mobile phone owners actually do recycle their phones when they upgrade to newer models.

You can bet that this general ignorance places a lot of strain on the country’s landfills. Too many used mobile phones end up in them, leaking potentially dangerous chemicals into the soil.

This can all be avoided, though, if more consumers would take the steps to recycle their mobile phones for money.

Fortunately, there are plenty of options for consumers who do want to both protect the environment and put some extra spending cash in their pockets. They can log onto Web sites such as Earth Mobile, Envirofone and Fonebak. These sites, and many others, will provide cash for used and now unwanted mobile phones.

The process is easy. Consumers just log onto the sites, check how much a company will pay for their used phones and reject or accept this offer. If they accept the offer, they then mail their used mobile phone – in their own envelope or in one provided by the recycling company – to the recycler. The recycling company than sends the mobile phone owners the agreed-upon amount of money.

Mobile owners shouldn’t be afraid to do some shopping. By comparing offers from different Web sites, they can make sure that they get the most cash back for their mobile phones. They can do this even if their used mobiles are no longer working. Most owners can expect to receive about 21 pounds from their no-longer-working mobile phones, so it’s best for them to shop around until they find an offer in that range.

Recycling their phones with private companies is a simple way for mobile phone owners to make some quick cash. And in today’s rather dismal economy, who isn’t on the lookout for extra money?

There are privacy steps that owners should take, of course. Before sending their used mobiles to a recycling company, they should remove the phone’s SIM card. They should also make sure that all of the numbers and contacts that they have on the phones are erased.

As far as work goes, that’s about all consumers have to do.

Recycling old mobile phones for cash is a far better option than either throwing out the phones or shoving them somewhere in an office. More than 80 percent of the parts of a mobile phone can be recycled. It’s a shame, then, that more owners don’t take advantage of the recycle-for-cash options out there.