Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Old Phone

Smartphones are a staple of modern life, but they also have a significant environmental impact. When we upgrade to a new phone, our old devices often end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose.

There are many ways to reduce the environmental impact of your old phone.

Here are a few tips:

Reduce: Don’t buy a new phone unless you need one. If your current phone is still working well, there’s no need to upgrade.

Reuse: If you’re no longer using your old phone, see if you can reuse it. You can give it to a friend or family member, donate it to a charity, or use it as a dedicated home control device or music player.

Recycle: If your old phone is unusable or broken beyond repair, make sure it’s recycled properly. Recycling companies can extract valuable metals and plastics from your phone and reuse them in new products. Check out Call2Recycle for a drop-off location near you. www.call2recycle.org/locator

Here are some specific ideas for reusing your old phone:

Remote control: Use your old phone as a remote control for your TV, smart home devices, or other electronics.

Music Player: Load your old phone with music and use it as a dedicated music player.

Digital Book Reader: Download digital books and magazines to your old phone and use it as a dedicated e-reader.

Home security camera: Use your old phone as a home security camera. There are many apps available that can turn your old phone into a security camera.

Kids’ phone: Give your old phone to your kids and pre-load it with just the apps you want them to have access to.

No matter what you choose to do with your old phone, make sure you erase any personal data before passing it on. You can do this by going into “Settings” and looking for the option to “Factory Reset” or “Erase all Content and Settings.” By following these tips, you can help reduce the environmental impact of your old phone and make a difference for the planet.

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