According to recent studies conducted by the Yale Environment 360 program, very little of the metals that go into making smartphones and tablets ever get recycled. In fact, there is at least 50 pounds of gold and 550 pounds of silver in every 1 million smartphones. These are precious metals that are just getting thrown away each and every day by consumers all over the world.
The cost savings alone in these precious metals is enough to make people want to recycle them, but take into account the polluting agents that smartphones and tablets contain, and you might want to think twice before throwing away your old smartphone. These pollutants don’t just sit in landfills for thousands of years until they finally degrade. They actually spoil the surrounding environment to such an extent that the area cannot be used for anything ever again for risk of making people and livestock sick.
We have looked at two reasons that you should recycle your smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices, but let’s take a look at one more. Today’s electronics contain a variety of rare earth materials that without them, there would be no more electronic devices ever. No smartphones, computers, tablets or even televisions. These rare materials need to be recycled if we are ever to have the latest technology to hold in our hands again.
Recycling your cell phone or tablet is easy and can even make you some money. You can sell your phone to a company like GreenBuyback. GreenBuyback gives you the option the find out how much your phone is worth by using their website. Simply visit GreenBuyback’s website and select the phone you are trying to sell. You will get a free quote instantly. If you agree with the price, you can continue to checkout and generate a free UPS label to send in your phone. Payments are made via PayPal or check once GreenBuyback receives your phone.
Another method of recycling your old e-waste is to contact the device’s manufacturer and see if they have a recycling service where you can send your old smart phone or tablet to them in a postage paid envelope. Many times, when you purchase a new phone, it comes along with a prepaid envelope for you to send in your old phone. This is an especially good idea if your old phone isn’t worth much money or it is broken.
Just as we recycle our aluminum cans, glass bottles and paper products. We should also recycle our consumer electronic waste to ensure that our environment is kept healthy and clean and that new electronic items can be made at an affordable price. And remember, if you can make some money from selling your cell phones and stay green, that’s a great method as well.