Chances are you’ve got a few discarded cell phones lying around, gathering dust in a drawer or desk.
By some counts, cell-crazed Americans have upward of 100 million wireless phones sitting idle. So many, in fact, it’s been estimated that if all the unused cell phones were laid end to end, they’d crisscross the country nearly seven times between New York and Los Angeles.
Whether that’s even remotely true, there’s no doubt that Americans are sitting on hundreds of handsets.
So what to do with all those old Razrs, Nokias and flip-phones? Sell them? Donate? Recycle? Toss them in the trash?
The last is clearly the worst option. In fact, in California, it’s against the law to discard any electronic device, including a cell phone, in the garbage. That’s to avoid letting the hazardous metals found in e-waste, including arsenic, copper and lead, wind up in landfills, where they’ll contaminate soil and underground water supplies.
So scratch that option.
“We encourage people to either recycle or donate – anything to keep them out of landfills,” said Amy Norris, spokeswoman for CalRecycle, which oversees the state’s recycling programs.
If you’ve got unwanted cell phones to discard, here are your three best options: Sell for cash, donate to charity or recycle as e-waste.
Sell for cash
If your phone still works and isn’t too scratched or beat up, it may be worth selling. Sites like cellforcash.com or gazelle.com let you type in your cell phone model and get a price quote.
For instance, I took a handful of old phones left over from my 20-something kids and typed in the make and models on several Web sites. (To find the model number, pop off the back and take out the battery. The model number should be visible below.)
A couple of Nokias that my son had in high school were so old they weren’t listed on any of the sites I checked. And my 3-year-old LG fetched a whopping $2, or zero, depending on the site.
Some companies warn upfront that the older your model, the less likely it’s got any resale value left.
Gazelle.com, for instance, will pay anywhere from $7 for a Motorola Razr V3 up to $219 for certain 3G iPhones or $269 for a Blackberry Storm2. The offers are based on the phone’s condition and usability and whether you still have cables, batteries and other accessories.
Many cash-for-cell-phone sites allow you to donate phones that have no cash value.
Get it recycled
In an effort to divert more toxic metals out of municipal landfills, California passed a law in 2004 requiring all wireless phone sellers to accept used phones for recycling. These days, everyone from Costco to Best Buy takes old cell phones for recycling.
According to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, retailers and recyclers collected about 3.6 million cell phones in 2008, the most recent data available. That represents about 25 percent of the estimated 14.5 million mobile phones sold in the state that year.
Recyclers like Arman Sadeghi, CEO of All Green Electronics Recycling in Orange, said every cell phone collected from its more than 100 drop-off sites in California is mined for its scrap value. The plastic is shredded, the aluminum parts get separated and the circuit board is stripped of precious metals, like gold, copper, platinum and silver.
None of the phones or their parts, he said, “go to landfills or Third World countries overseas.”
While tiny, cell phones pack a mighty recycling punch. Of 500,000 pounds of discarded electronics collected at All Green’s local events in Southern California in January, cell phones make up only about 2,100 pounds, Sadeghi said. “By weight, they’re a rather small percentage of what we collect. But by value and sheer numbers, it’s big.”
He said the circuitry inside a single cell phone contains “maybe 75 cents worth” of gold, which isn’t much. “But when you’re recycling hundreds and thousands of cell phones, it adds up quickly.”
It’s easy to find local e-waste recyclers at Web sites like erecycle.org or the state’s www.calrecycle.ca.gov. Or call CalRecycle at (866) 218-6103. You won’t get paid for your cell phone but will get the reward of knowing you’re helping the environment.
Donate to charity
Want your cell phone to help a good cause? Lots of sites take donated phones, then sell or recycle the parts and use the proceeds to support everything from low-income home rebuilding to kidney research.
Cell Phones for Soldiers, for instance, sells donated phones to recyclers and uses the proceeds to purchase prepaid calling cards for military members serving overseas. Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular Inc., said the charity collected 2 million used cell phones last year – 200,000 alone from California. (It’s at www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com or (800) 426-1031.)
Another charitable source is the 911 Cell Phone Bank, which works with more than 1,000 law enforcement and victim-abuse groups nationwide to provide emergency 911 cell phones to those in need.
“Every month, we receive anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 cell phones,” mostly Verizon models, said James Mosieur, director of the Florida-based nonprofit.
Old phones capable of making a 911 call – about 4,000 a month – are cleaned, refurbished and shipped to one of 600 police and sheriff’s departments or to hundreds of victims groups for women, children and seniors.
(For details, go to www.911cellphonebank.org or call (866) 290-7864.)
Erase it
No matter how you discard your cell phone, take these steps first:
• Discontinue your cell phone service.
• Erase the phone’s memory of contacts and other data. Sites like recellular.com/recycling and recyclewirelessphones.com have a free “cell phone eraser” where you type in your cell phone manufacturer and model and get e-mailed instructions on how to delete your contact names and numbers.
• Remove the phone’s SIM card, if it has one. If you’re not sure, check with your wireless provider.
Another option
And if you really want to hang onto that dead cell phone, you can always turn it into a crafts project.
Randy Sarafan, the San Francisco-based author of “62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer (and Other Discarded Electronics),” recommends dismantling your cell phone and using the parts for “geek chic”: smart-card necklaces or flip-phone flashlights.
Now that’s recycling with flair.