The Ultimate Guide to Cell Phone Recycling

Whoop! The newest model of your phone just came out, and you are ready for an upgrade! Having the latest and greatest phone is fun and functional for many people globally. Unfortunately, that leaves you with an old cell phone. Rather than stuff it in a drawer or throw it away, you can easily recycle it. Today, we will take you through our ultimate guide to cell phone recycling.

Why is Cell Phone Recycling a Priority?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports, “For every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.”

That is a lot of natural resources that are expensive and harmful to the earth to obtain. Rather than tossing it out and forcing companies to dig for more, you can give the materials in your phone a second chance by recycling them.

The Ultimate Guide to Cell Phone Recycling

By following these simple steps, you can easily recycle your cell phone and make a difference in the health of our planet.

Step #1: Determine if your phone is recycle-ready

If your phone is still in excellent condition, but you are just ready for an upgrade, we recommend selling it or donating it to a charity in need. However, if your phone is outdated or damaged, continue to step 2!

Step #2: Back up your data

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.aFor many of us, our phones hold a large chunk of our lives, from family vacation photos to banking passwords. Before recycling your phone, make sure to back up all your important content to a cloud service and/or external hard drive. If you already have a new phone, you may be able to have your phone company complete a mirror transfer, so all of your data gets switched over easily.

Also, make sure to write down your phone serial number and IMEI.

Step #3: Wipe it clean

You never want your phone and its data to get into someone else’s hands; that’s a recipe for disaster. Therefore, you want to ensure that your phone has been wiped clean (after all your data is saved, of course). To do this, you will want to:

Unlike any accounts
Unpair any accessories
Encrypt your phone’s storage
Removing SIM and microSD cards
Complete a factory reset

Step #4: Find a Phone Recycling Center

We recommend checking around your local area to see if there are any electronic recycling companies in your community. If you do not have one nearby, various companies, like Green Century, offer mail-in options.

Green Century Phone Recycling

Green Century Recycling is dedicated to providing businesses and residents the ability to utilize safe, efficient, and eco-friendly electronic recycling. If you are located in our service area, we offer pick-up services for businesses, schools, non-profits, and residential. For more information, please review our website. Got questions? Contact us to learn how we can help you safely and efficiently recycle your phones, laptops, and other electronics.

The Ultimate Guide to Cell Phone Recycling

Why is Cell Phone Recycling a Priority?

The Ultimate Guide to Cell Phone Recycling

Step #1: Determine if your phone is recycle-ready

Step #2: Back up your data

Step #3: Wipe it clean

Step #4: Find a Phone Recycling Center

Green Century Phone Recycling

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