Recycle your old phone and ring in the pounds

Over 1.5 million mobile phones are thrown away each year and a further 50 million could soon find their way to landfill sites as over two-thirds (67 per cent) of people fail to recycle old handsets, according to research from moneysupermarket.com.

To encourage people to be kinder to the environment as well as their wallets, moneysupermarket.com is launching the first ever ‘National Recycle Your Phone Week' from 27th October to 2nd November 2008, in partnership with love2recycle.com.

The study reveals on average, every Brit has two old handsets lying around the house, with 32 per cent planning to just keep hold of their old handsets once they've finished with them. love2recyle.com will pay an average of £25 for one phone, and up to £150 depending on the handset.

James Parker, commercial manager of mobiles and broadband at moneysupermarket.com, says; "Not only does it make environmental sense to recycle old phones but it's not a bad idea for your wallet either. If people recycled all the old handsets they have lying around they could make a tidy sum.

"People regularly upgrade their phones for the latest model even though their old handset may be in good working order. It's this need for the latest gadget which has resulted in people accumulating so many spare phones - particularly the younger generation."

One in six (15 per cent) people claim to not know how to recycle old mobile phones or didn't know they could and one in 10 (9 per cent) claim that they would prefer to sell their old phones. The hazardous components found in mobile handsets, especially lead, cadmium and mercury present in the batteries, pose serious hazards to the environment if discarded in landfill sites, but if recycled, they can be put to good use.

Parker continues: "The average person has two old mobile phones, increasing to an average of 3 for those under 20 - that's a huge number of handsets just lying around that could be put to good use through recycling.

"We hope National Recycle Your Phone Week will raise awareness and really encourage people to recycle old phones - for the benefit of the environment as well as gaining a bit of extra cash."

To recycle your old handsets visit moneysupermarket.love2recycle.com