The Basics
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are over a 100 million cell phones in the end of life phase in the United States. That’s One Hundred Million phones in a sock drawer somewhere, or 1 phone for every 3 people in the United States. Most of these phones, unfortunately, will end up in a landfill somewhere, causing irreparable harm to our environment and habitat.
The good news is that it’s a fairly simple process to recycle your cell phone, and make some cold hard cash in the process. Most Cell Phones in the US are recycled through Recellular or Collective Good, but read on to see how you can go through a third party and get cash.
How it Works
Step 1: Make sure to strip your phone of all information, using the data erasers located here. If your cell phone has a SIM card, make sure to remove it first.
Step 2: Decide whether you want to profit or donate the money to charity (see below).
Step 3: Send your cell phone to the recycler of your choice.
Step 4: Get cash and Good karma.
Show Me the Money
Cell For Cash will take your old cell phone and give you money back for it. As an example, a first generation 8gb iPhone is worth $122.
If you are a Sprint/Nextel customer, Sprint will take your old phone and apply a credit to your account. The Sprint program is applicable only to certain models (typically older ones) so make you check this list before sending in your phone.
If you’re using any of the other major cell phone carriers, be advised. They offer free cell phone recycling programs but no account credit or tax deduction. In fact, they take the tax deduction for themselves! We’re not going to list those programs here, as the whole point of this exercise is to get cash in your pocket.
Can you say tax deduction?
Many charities accept Cell Phones for recycling and give you a tax deduction where eligible. But beware – there are many websites out there which will give a donation to a charity when you give them your phone – but they’ll sell the phone and keep the tax deduction!
One of the most popular charity campaigns is Cell Phones for Soldiers, which buys calling card minutes for soldiers overseas (see our interview here).
Obama and McCain fans, take note – on the Collective Good website, you can earmark your cell phone proceeds for either of those political campaigns.
Both Collective Good and ReCellular work with major charities, such as the American Red Cross, the United Way, and many others. Check their websites for a complete list and look there for your favorite charity.
Where’s the Good Karma?
The Good Karma comes from keeping your cell phone away from landfills. You earn extra points if you donated to charity. Subtract points if you took the lazy method and just gave it to your cell phone company – shame on you for not getting any cash!
