Phone recycling is the best option when your handset gets old and you want to get rid of it one way or the other. If you recycle mobile phones either by selling your phone or having it exchanged, your efforts will benefit not only you but also the environment.
How then are these old mobile phones recycled? The answer to this question lies in why these companies pay cash for mobile phones. There are usually two reasons behind this business of mobile phone recycling.
Phone recycling companies make better use of your old mobile phones under the strict supervision of their engineers. These engineers repair the old handsets and afterwards sell them, or they sometimes donate the units to charity.
The first option, which is reselling the phone, is the primary reason why these phone recycling companies are in business. Under the strict and careful supervision of an experienced phone company supervisor, the reusable elements of your mobile phone are extracted and recycled. These materials include plastic, glass, silver, gold and coltan. This means that if we chose to throw old mobile phones away, we would lose these valuable materials.
According to the Canadian-based natural resources company Falconbridge Limited, one metric tonne of old mobile phones exclusive of their batteries contain the following: 140 kg of copper, 3.14 kg of silver, 300 g of gold, 130 g of palladium, and 3 g of platinum. These metals are recycled by the phone recycling companies and resold.