What do you do with old cell phones and charges?

I'm an environmental friendly guy and don't want to put them in the trash..although I may have to, are they recyclable? what do you do with them.

 

If you are in the US, I can answer you. If not, I am not so sure. I do know that cell phone stores will take back old phones, but make sure you have deleted any personal info first. Best Buy stores have recycling drop boxes for old cables, such as phone charging cables.

 

I'm in the US..in Neveda..BEST BUY is about 30 minutes away...I don't think im driving there to drop off old cell phones, also I think YOU HAVE TO PAY THEM to recycle your cell phones.

 

There are some internet sites that will recycle and send you a free mailer.

 

Places that sell phones will take them back for free. But I agree that driving so far to recycle is self-defeating. Are there any other cell phone stores or large electronics stores closer to you? Many of them take phones & cables fro recycling at no charge.

 

Except for the phones I passed to folks, I still have my old ones. When I see how folks younger than I damage theirs I wonder. The marvel of carrying a color screened computer with stereo sound that can connect with the internet! I've not broken a screen yet, but have worn out or damaged the charge port. I remember Dick Tracy and his wrist TV. My grand children are growing up in The Future!

 

In California we have recycling centers all over the place. Schools here usually have electronic recycling once a month and they get a portion of the recycling.

 

That was the iwatch back before the iwatch existed!

 

Hmmm.... Atomic Light... that sounds.... safe....

 

Dick Tracy had better tech than James T. Kirk. Video vs. audio only. At least Kirk had speakerphone mode.

 

Tracy considered getting into comestibles.

Safer than Dilithium dip and Isolinear Chips!

 

I still have all of mine...

 

Re-purpose those old phones!

 

Depending on the condition of the phone, you might consider repurposing it. We have one that we turned into our "media center" phone. We have a chromecast, so we use it to cast videos, music, etc. to the tv. We have another one that we turned into a kids device. It has some games, kids bible app, etc. on it. You can also consider turning it into a security camera or monitor. There are some free apps out there that will turn them into a wi-fi camera.

 

Some cool ideas.

 

I just toss it up into the attic never to be seen again. But really my provider offers a credit towards a new one. Or you could wait until it's vintage and sell it on eBay. Or the attic, nobody ever goes up there.

 

A strategy that has worked for me is to replace my smart phones every two years. I keep the original package, and the phone stays in a protective case with a screen protector while I'm using it. At the end of two years I clean the phone up, wipe the memory completely, and sell it while it still has some value. You can sell used phones on eBay, but i have an Amazon seller account that I use.

I sold my last phone, a Nexus 4, for $65 + $5 shipping in December 2015. After Amazon took their cut and I paid the actual shipping cost of $8, I cleared about $55.

It's not a lot of money, but it's better than zero, if you don't mind the trouble.

 

10 Possibilities:

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-places-to-recycle-your-cell-phone/

Your local Staples also offers e-recycling.

 

I add my old phonesv to the pile of other old phones in the closet.

Herm

 

When I was volunteering at the county Senior Service agency, a program began to donate old cell phones to the agency. May still be going on.