Each year, recycling saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions. And, did you know that recycled materials supplies 40% of the world’s raw material needs? Well good news, today is Global Recycling Day! Luckily there's alot we can do to play our part to make our tech footprint a bit smaller.
Trade-in your old phone
We all know that getting a new phone is exciting, but it’s also the perfect time to make sure that your old stuff doesn’t end up in the bin. By trading in your old phone with iD Mobile, your phone will live on as a refurbished device. If it’s in good nick, it could go on to be someone else’s phone. But if not, the parts can be recycled to create new phones.
Last year, we traded in almost 20,000 phones (19,676 to be exact) – that’s a load of waste saved. And on average, those customers got back £112!
Simply head to the iD Mobile trade-in page and search for your phone model. Then fill it a quick online form and you’ll receive a quote. If you’re happy with the amount of cash you’ll get, put your mobile in the pre-paid Jiffy bag we’ll send you, then post it to us. You’ll then get paid once the Currys engineers confirm the device condition.
Or why not recycle it?
Did you know that roughly 80% of the materials used in your phone are recyclable? You can recycle old mobile phones at most local recycling centres, so check to see where your nearest one is. Or, why not put an ad on Freecycle or Freegle to see if you can find any takers locally?!
Any other tech lying around at home?
If you didn’t know already, we’re part of the Currys group. At Currys, we collect, re-use and recycle a massive 65,000 tonnes of old tech every year (even if you didn’t buy it from us).
And on top of that, Currys only sell electricals and electronics that can be recycled, as indicated by the symbol of a crossed-out wheelie bin which appears on them. Even if your old electrical appliances or technologies don’t bear this symbol, the good news is we’ll accept them for recycling.
Or why not donate to a charity...
Old tech, provided they’re in full working order, are a more than welcome sight in charity shops. They tend to make for higher ticket items and the money all goes to a good cause.
Fonebank for example is a great site for selling old tech but they also have a fantastic charity initiative with WaterAid. You can sell your phone then choose to donate a percentage, or the full value of your phone directly to WaterAid.
So there is a few ways you can help the planet this Global Recycling Day. Do you have any other tips on how we can reduce the environmental impact from tech?