Mobile phone users 'throwing away money'

Posted on 2 Dec 2008 at 10:25

UK mobile users have been accused of "throwing away money" because of a widespread failure to recycle potentially valuable handsets. A newly published poll of over 1,000 British consumers found that a quarter of people simply throw their old mobile phones away without realising that they could be making money from them.

The survey also shows that that while over half of consumers are aware of the environmental impact of throwing old handsets away, the same number again do not recycle them because they think it is too difficult or they simply cannot be bothered.

The survey, which was conducted by mobile phone trade-in website Fonebank, reported that over a third of respondents owned one unused mobile phone while 36 per cent owned two, and 19 per cent owned three or more.

"It's crazy that a lot of people out there are still just chucking their phones in the bin when they no longer have any use for them," said Mark Harrison, director of Fonebank.

"Not only is this bad news for the environment, it's also throwing money away. Most people are amazed to discover that their old phone can easily be recycled for cash, and we're not just talking pennies here - depending on the make and model, your old handset could be worth up to £200.

Harrison added: "As the credit crunch bites and with Christmas approachin trading in those old phones makes more sense than ever. And it really isn't hard to do. It's vital that we do more to recycle portable electronic devices such as phones, PDAs and MP3 players, because they all contain materials that can be harmful to the environment if simply thrown away."

Author: Robert Jaques

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