As a huge number of phones are sold every year, naturally a huge number of phones are thrown away. If you think that most phones are recycled in an environmentally friendly way, you are mistaken. Only about 6% of phones that are thrown away are recycled. What happens to the rest? They end up in incinerators or landfills where they contaminate the environment.
How are phones recycled?
The very best option is to use your phone for as long as it works, i.e. until the end of its life, and then decide to throw it away. If you have a fully working phone and want to get rid of it, you can donate it to charity; many people in financial need will appreciate an older phone.
However, if your phone is no longer working or is damaged, the easiest thing to do is to throw it away in a red e-waste bin. Another option is to take the phone to a collection yard or use an old phone buy-back. However, you can also take your phone to a dealer who will dispose of it.
When the phone is recycled, the battery is separated from the phone and recycled separately. The rest of the phone is shredded and the individual parts are used to make new electrical equipment or other products. Recycling uses about 90% of the materials in the phone.
