Well, apart from making you feel all nice and fluffy because you are doing your bit for the environment and helping charity there are also a number of highly toxic components used in the manufacture of the current generation of mobile phones.

EU legislation (WEEE Directive) is in place that will put the onus onto the manufacturer to avoid the use of such toxins in the future but currently there are millions of handsets in circulation that pose a threat to the environment if not recycled responsibly.   There are also a number of valuable materials used in the production of mobile phones and they contain components that can be re-used if carefully removed.

Nicad batteries contain Cadmium, a dangerous toxic and carcinogenic substance. The quantity in landfill sites is significant and the inevitable effects of Cadmium leaking into the surrounding soil cause considerable toxic contamination. Recycle Your Mobile operates a special license to handle this kind of waste.

There are literally millions of unwanted mobile phones and inkjet cartridges in the UK alone. The environmental impact of dumping these handsets into our already over-stretched landfill sites is extremely damaging. Recycle Your Mobile aims to collect as many of these unwanted mobile phones and re-process them for re-use where possible.  The handsets that have reached the end of their useful life in the UK can offer a low-cost communication solution to users in developing countries who cannot afford to buy a brand new handset.

Working handsets are tested and re-packaged ready for export. Handsets that we cannot re-use are environmentally recycled through one of our many recycling partners and can be transformed into things like sleeping policeman and frisbees. Our over-riding aim is to avoid sending waste to landfill, where it causes most damage to the environment.

Mobile phone recycling procedure
An overview of the recycling process applied to all the phones we receive.