Retailers sell more than 1.5 billion newsmartphoneseach year . And in the United States , at least , smartphone drug user buy a new equipment every two yr or so [ sources : Nair , Fowler ] . The phones they vacate are often still utterly functional ( if perhaps a bit soggy ) , and there ’s the question of what one should do with those older devices .
Whatever you do , do n’t simply be sick your old phone in the garbage . They contain lithium - ion batteries that be a real fire hazard , and they can even explode in some circumstance . By one appraisal , 65 percent of wasteland adroitness fires ( in California , at least ) were ignited due to discarded cellphone phone battery [ source : Siegal ] .
In accession to the theory of fire , prison cell sound electronics are write of a authentic treasure trove of valuable components . They ’re are made with precious metal , copper andplastics , all of which can be recycle to make new products . Even so , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently estimates only about 20 percentage of all cellphone sound are recycle [ reservoir : LeBlanc ] .
Most prison cell phone providers have drop - off bin or ring armour - in programs to make recycling your old telephone set easy , but there are bunch of way you’re able to reprocess your headphone and give to others . Many charities have partnered with cubicle phone refurbishing company and recyclers as a way of generating stock while keeping phones out of landfills , so everybody win . They always verify to pass over any personal selective information before reprocess or reusing these phones . Here are some ways to donate old phones .
1. Help Soldiers Call Home
cellular phone Phones for Soldiersprovides talk time to overseas troops so they can call home . Founded in 2004 by two youthful stripling who were distraught after learning of a soldier who racked up an $ 8,000 phone account while serve in Iraq , Cell Phones for soldier has since collected more than 20 million devices and given away more than 400 million minutes of lecture time to service force .
The organization collects old phones which it sells to a recycler or an electronic refurbisher , bet on the condition . It use the yield to buy long length call card , which are distributed to men and women who are serving in the military . Each phone donate buys about one hour of talking metre for soldiers .
2. Help Victims of Domestic Violence
TheNational coalescency Against Domestic Violence(NCADV ) collects cell phones to help fund their programs . They accept phones and partner with Cellular Recycler , which sell renovate electronics . Some of the funds from those sales then lead back to NCADV . They ’ll also swallow other case of sometime electronics , too , include old laptops , digital camera , video game consoles , and MP3 players , along with all of the related charging cords and accessories .
3. Support a Worthy Cause
Second Wave Recyclingis an organization that accepts older phone , iPods and MP3 player , tablets and vitamin E - referee , handheld gaming devices , smart watches and even appoint cables . Newer and functional devices are refurbish and then sold for hard cash . Older devices are recycled . The money from those process is donated to fund a designated charity . Second Wave is actively fund theWounded Warrior Project , which offer support services for military personnel who ’ve been ache while serve the U.S. , but the administration has supported other causes , too , let in charities that benefit medical patient , domesticated revilement subsister , animals rescues , and many others . you could pick out which brotherly love to back .
4. Help Keep Your Community Safer
Did you know that all cadre phones sold in the U.S. , irrespective of their toter subscription status , must be able to dial 911 in example of an emergency ? So that half - decade - old headphone tucked by in storage will still call for an ambulance or police aid , provided the battery is chargeable.911 Cell Phone Bankis an organisation that swallow used cubicle phones and recycles them to victim of maltreatment for pinch use ; to law enforcement ( for instance to supersede a broken screen on a phone a suspect purposely discredited ) and to classrooms for use in app maturation courses .
5. Improve Heath Care around the World
Why hoard your old earphone in a shoebox in the dome when it could be used to pull through lives?Medic Mobilerecycles and refurbishes honest-to-god phones and pad and uses the fund to buy roving devices that medical workers use on the job in 26 countries , mostly in Asia , Latin America , or Africa . These devices show pregnancy , track disease outbreaks , and communicate about aesculapian pinch .
