How To Dispose Of Smartphones In A Safe And Secure Manner

By Author: Eco Green
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

There comes a time when we have to compost, recycle or discard our old smartphones; however, most of us do not know anything about the safe disposal practices; especially the ones pertaining to e-waste items.
When it comes to disposing of a smartphone, one must consider two things: impact on environment and security.
Some of your most personal and sensitive information such as videos, photos, text messages, emails and account numbers are stored in your smartphones. Someone may end up hacking your social media accounts, buy items from your money or worse steal your identity.
That’s not all, disposing of smartphones in an irresponsible manner will make you a contributor to an already escalating e-waste issue that threatens to contaminate our waterways, soil and air with hazardous chemicals. This is the reason why most companies hire services of professional IT disposal companies in order to dispose of their redundant IT equipment.
In this article, I will be sharing some tips that will help you dispose of your broken or old smartphone ...
... in a responsible manner.
Wipe The Data
When it comes to the smartphones, the easiest way of wiping your applications and data off them is to perform a full reset. However, you must first ensure that all of your precious videos, pictures and documents are backed up on a cloud or an external hard drive.
Remove Your SIM Card from the Phone
A lot of your personal information is usually held up in your SIM cards, such as text messages, phone numbers and addresses.
Ensure removal of your SIM card from your phone before you decide to send off your old smartphones to the recycling centres. You will need your old card for the new smartphone unless you’re planning on switching the network. In case you are, you should use a scissor to cut it in half before you dispose of it.
Trade It In Or Recycle It
First thing you should do is get in contact with your wireless service provider or the phone manufacturer and see if they have a certain trade-in program in place.
They will either offer you gift cards or discounts on any next purchase in case they have a certain program in place.
You may also get in contact with your local IT disposal services and see if they are willing to take them off your hands. Registered and licensed recyclers use environmentally-friendly practices to dismantle old e-waste items and sell them to various other manufacturers so that they may incorporate those parts in other electronic items.
Sell It
Even though the lifespan or smartphones is not long, you will be surprised to know as to how much money some of them command in the 2nd hand market.
Shopping around for various online options can prove to be a convenient and lucrative option for you. Swappa, Usell.com, eBay, Gazelle and Amazon are one of those services that will either offer you cash for your old gadget or connect you with a potential buyer.
Give Your Old Smartphones A New Purpose
Choosing to dispose of, recycle or sell your old smartphone should not be your first priority. You should pass it down to a close family member or reuse it. By doing so, you will not only escape the hassle of disposing of it responsibly but also save another smartphone from being assembled.
For example, you can use your old smartphone as a security camera or a Spotify controller.
Donate Your Phone
Your smartphone may no longer be of any use for you, but they are quite valuable for the organisations, which rely on donations in order to help the underprivileged children, overseas soldiers and victims of domestic violence.
Even if they couldn’t make direct use of your smartphones, they will still be able to sell them off to various recycling firms and use those funds to support their noble cause.
Eco Green IT recycling offers the most environmentally friendly, cost-effective, secure and safe computer disposal services in the UK. We will ensure the destruction of your personal data from your hard drives and guarantee it with a data destruction certificate.