But, wait. What's that tossed under the tree with the crumpled wrapping paper? Is that your old phone? A relic of Christmas past? It still works, right? On Christmas Eve you were gleefully making calls to friends and family. Now, the day after all the hoopla, it's relegated to the same pile as the crushed bows and tissue paper.
No need to get all maudlin. After all, that beautiful tree is heading for the shredder in a couple of weeks. All that cardboard packaging will be bundled and set out by the curb for recycling. Recycling? Yes, that's it. Why not recycle your cell phone too?
How do you recycle a cell phone? Well, you don't set it out in the recycling bin at the curb. You send it off to a professional recycler who has the equipment and expertise to separate metals and plastic so that they can be reused by industry. A good recycler wastes nothing. All materials are recovered and sent to where they are wanted. Nothing enters the waste stream. Not even the echo of obnoxious ringtones past.
Here's a bonus for your civic spirit in wanting your old phone to at least meet a good end. Many recent cell phone models are still worth at least a little cash. These phones don't go to the crusher if they are still working up to spec. Instead, they are repurposed as emergency phones or sent overseas to new owners who are glad to get a phone they can afford. Even if you didn't pay anything for your phone in the first place, you can still get a little cash in your pocket by sending it in for reuse. And who doesn't need a little green in their pocket after the holidays?
Oh, I'll be this has you thinking. All those phones from all your family members have been piling up for years. They're in drawers or boxes, silent in their demise. If you aren't inspired to tie a ribbon around each one and use them as tree ornaments next year, why not round them all up and ship them off to the recycler? At the very least, you are doing a good deed by recycling instead of trashing. Best case, you'll get a check for who knows how much? Hey, there's a way to find out what those phones are worth. Get your collection of mobiles handy and look up cellphone values now.
