What to Do with Your Old Cell Phone

It’s not hard to become attached to a cell phone. After all, it can serve as a lifeline, connecting you with your children, parents, and friends. But times change, needs change, technology advances, and you find that you need to upgrade to a new model. Assuming you’re pleased with your new purchase, you’ll then have to make a key decision: what to do with your old cell phone. Thankfully, there are a number of options available to you.

You may be tempted to simply discard your cell phone—to throw it in a wastebasket or outdoor waste bin. However, that would be a terrible waste in the long run. Cell phones are valuable, even when they might be a little outdated. Besides that, the phones consist of toxic parts that may leak, creating an environmental hazard.

So—how do you get the most mileage out of your old cell phone? First of all, you might consider donating your phone to a good cause, such as your local school, charity, or domestic violence shelter. A number of non-profit organizations have on-going cell phone collection drives; therefore, no matter what time of the year you’re discarding your phone, chances are you can find a charity that is willing to accept it.

You can also turn your old cell phone into a money-maker, “remodeling” it so that you can re-sell it. You might also consider selling off your phone’s individual parts. There can be little doubt that one cell phone user’s trash can easily become another’s treasure.

If you’re looking for a place to drop off your cell phone, you might want to consult the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, also known as www.recyclewirelessphones.org. The association has a website which includes a list of locations where cell phones are collected. In other cases, an organization may simply send you a mailing label and have you mail the old phone to a central office.

And don’t think that these old phones represent piles of junk—the average cell phone is in use for only about a year and a half before being tossed. That means that as many as 150 million cell phones are replaced each year. Given this fact, it’s likely that you’ll have to replace your cell phone soon—so it’s a good idea to have a plan in place for dealing with your old phone.

Of course, it’s important that you follow proper procedures when saying goodbye to your old cell phone. These include paying off your bill and formally cutting off your service. You’ll also want to remove information from the cell phone’s memory so that your private information does not get into the wrong hands. In addition, be sure to remove the SIM card from the phone for security’s sake.

If you have any additional questions, it’s a good idea to contact your cell phone provider. The company should be able to provide you with all the information you need to make a smooth transition from one phone to the next.