Get Cash for your Old Mobile

More than 80 percent of all mobile phone parts can be recycled. Unfortunately, far too many UK residents don't realize this. They dont realize, either, that they can get fast cash for recycling their mobile phones.

According to a recent study by mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, only 3 percent of people bother to recycle their mobile phones. Most either throw their old phones away when they upgrade or simply relegate them to the back of a desk drawer or closet.

This is unfortunate, but it isn't surprising. According to the same Nokia study, an incredible 75 percent of mobile phone owners had no idea how to recycle their old, unwanted phones.

This is unfortunate for several reasons: For one, it's terrible for the environment. Mobile phones contain many chemicals, often including cadmium; that can prove harmful should they leak into the soil at landfills, where they often end up. At the same time, there are many people across the UK who would happily take a refurbished used mobile phone.

Finally, mobile phone users lose out, too, when they fail to recycle their old mobile phones. That's because it's extremely easy today to sell mobiles phones for cash.

Thats right: In today's tough economic times, when everyone is looking for that extra bit of cash, the majority of mobile phone owners are passing up an easy chance to make some easy spending money.

A growing number of companies in the UK will recycle old mobile phones for cash. These companies host Web sites with names such as Envirofone, Earth Mobile, Mobile Phone Xchange and Sell Old Mobile. The good news is that these companies will take both working and non-working mobile phones and send their previous owners cash.

The process is a relatively simple one: When mobile phone owners decide it's time to purchase a new phone, they look up one of the recycling companies online. They can then type in their unwanted mobile phone's name and make. The recycling company will come back with an offer.

Mobile phone owners can then reject that offer and search one of the other mobile phone recycling sites or they can accept it. Once they've accepted it, they then mail their used mobile phone to the recycling company, which sends back a payment in return.

What kind of prices are people getting for their mobile phones? That depends, of course, on the age, make and model of the phone. But mobile phone owners can expect to receive about 55 pounds for a relatively modern mobile phone in working order and about 21 pounds for mobile phones that are no longer usable.

Of course, mobile phone users should make sure to clear all of their personal information from their phones before sending them away. This includes their address book and contact information.

The odds are that more residents will soon realize the value of recycling their mobile phones for cash. After all, it makes far more sense to do this than it does to simply throw away a mobile phone or stow it in the bottom of a desk drawer.

Recognizing this, a growing number of companies are now entering the mobile phone recycling business. This is good news for phone owners: It gives them more options, and more places at which to shop for the best prices for their old mobile phones.

Consumers have plenty of options when they upgrade to a new mobile phone. They can donate their old mobile phone to friends or family members who can't afford to purchase one of their own. They can donate their old mobile phones to charities.

These are good options. But neither of them will make consumers money. Those owners who are in need of a bit of extra spending money, should investigate recycling their mobile phones for cash. Consumers just might be surprised at how easy this really is.