How does mobile recycling work?

Whilst technology based sectors of the market such as computing and mobile phones are renowned for their innovative nature and are therefore continually in a state of evolution and improvement, one of the major drawbacks of such continual progress is that as a result, old models become obsolete or at the very least no longer economically viable to the retailers. This means that they are then required to be disposed of.

Never underestimate the potent combination of peer pressure, low self-esteem issues suffered by your typical teenager and the cunning marketing campaigns typically promoted by the mobile phone retailers, and so whilst it may be evident to us that such an approach is riddled with problems the simple truth of the matter is that the average consumer does not see them.

Thankfully, mobile phone companies are now coming to appreciate that the current status quo is simply and wholly inappropriate for a modern day regime, especially where the issues of global warming and pollution are now much more mainstream and widespread than ever before.  To that end then, many mobile phone companies have sought to recycle old mobile phones that consumers no longer have any use for and the results have been promising indeed.

How does mobile recycling work? This question will depend on the precise perspective from which you intend to regard this issue, i.e. whether you consider it from the consumer’s side, or from that of a retailer’s perspective. For the consumer, there are a number of businesses and agencies whose entire raison d’être is to purchase unwanted mobile phones and then refurbish them for resale and profit and there are a whole range of different payment options ranging from gift vouchers to store card points, or even cash in hand for your old mobile.

For a retailer, they can reuse the various components contained within the unwanted mobile phones such as the batteries, the casing, or the electronic components contained within the phone. This has an especially beneficial effect for the retailer for it means that they can acquire sellable phones at a fraction of the cost whilst at the same time keeping their overheads down even further. By recycling and meeting certain targets, mobile phone retailers may also be able to take advantage of and be entitled to government bursaries and tax concessions all of which are designed to reward and encourage recycling.