Do You Really Need a New Phone?
With the release of the new iPhone 14, it’s pretty tempting to want to upgrade your old phone. Trust me I’m in the same boat. But before you make the trade in, think about it. Do you really need that new phone?
Building a new smartphone requires the polluting extraction of irreplaceable elements like gold and lithium. Yes, you can recycle, but only a tiny fraction of smartphones can actually be recycled. The rest of the device and its harmful chemicals are secreted in landfills, contaminating the environment. Since the average phone user switches their phone every two years, that means more than 100 million smartphones make their way into landfills every year. E-Waste is quickly growing to become a hazardous factor for our planet and our own health.
So if you absolutely need to upgrade your old phone, here are some eco-friendly ways to make room for the latest and greatest smartphone:
Trade in with Apple or Other Online Sites
If it’s the new iPone you want and you have an older model of the iPhone, then you can earn credit towards your new phone when you trade in your previous model to Apple. Remember that the better quality and newer your model is, the more you’ll save on the newest phone. Apple takes the usable components from a traded in iPhone and then responsibly recycles the rest.
But if you don’t have Apple, you can also choose to sell your phone to a trade-in business that engages in some sort of corporate responsibility. For example, when you sell your phone to Buyback Boss they will donate to Lighthouse for Hope and Gizmogrind will plant a tree for every device sold.
Sell it as a Second-Hand Phone
There are a number of ways you can sell your phone to others. First, make sure your phone is in a clean and decent condition so others will be incentivized to buy. Ask around your friend circle if anyone is looking for an updated phone or make a post on social media to let people know you are selling. Facebook marketplace is a popular spot to sell used phones and Swappa is another online platform you can sell your used phone on.
With this method you have more power to sell your phone at the price you want and it won’t end up in a landfill. But remember that if there are a lot of cracks in your phone, it’s not working properly, or there are other things wrong with it, you might not get as much as you were hoping for.
Donate it to a Non-Profit
Maybe getting the right price for your phone isn’t at the top of your priority list. Then donating your used phone to organizations who will get the most out of it could be your next option. Goodwill’s donation center accepts electronics like laptops, cell phones and PCs. Secure the Call will collect old cell phones, and responsibly recycle unusable devices or they are fixed up and redistributed to underprivileged individuals, most being senior citizens and domestic abuse victims.
There are a lot of great organizations out there willing to help combat e-waste. Check out some more awesome organizations here.
Give it as a Hand-Me-Down
Growing up, this was always how I would get my new phone. My uncle was a self-proclaimed tech guru and he was always upgrading to the newest technology almost yearly. But instead of just throwing away his old devices, he would hand them down to friends and family. So when the new iPhone would come out, he would give me his previous model from two or so years ago, which I would keep for at least three years until I was ready to upgrade. So from middle school all the way through college, this was how I would update my phone. Then I would either give my old phones to my younger sister or we would take them to an e-recycling center when they were no longer usable.
Repurpose Your Old Phone
If you want to upgrade but are just not ready to part ways with your old phone, there are some ways you can repurpose it. For example, use your old phone only for music. Download all your playlists to it so you can listen to music offline wherever you go. You can do the same for videos, shows and movies. Or mount it and keep it in your car so it can be used as a GPS. You can even just keep it as a spare smartphone to have in case something happens. You never know when you or someone else might need a phone in a pinch.
There are numerous ways to responsibly discard your smartphone. When you throw it in the trash bin, remember all the harmful ways it will impact our already fragile planet. So before you upgrade your smartphone this fall, really consider if you need to. Because maybe the best thing for the planet and your wallet is to hold on that perfectly usable phone for just a bit longer.
