Mobile Phone Recycling with musicMagpie

Millions of people own a mobile phone. In fact, refurbished phones have experienced a boom in popularity due to being a more cost-effective and eco-friendly solution to upgrading.

But with even more unused tech hidden away around our houses - it begs the question of what we should be doing...

One option is to have a phone recycling session with musicMagpie; click on your phone below or search for your phone using our valuation engine to get an instant price. Read on to learn more about mobile phone recycling!

Mobile Phone Recycling Comparison

You might have noticed we don’t always appear on mobile recycling comparison sites. That’s because we believe it isn’t all about price when selling your phone – even though we often offer the best price!

On top of our great prices we offer the best service around too, which is why we’ve won Best Recycling Service at the Mobile Choice Awards 2018 & 2019 and at the What Mobile Awards six times. We also have an Excellent Trustpilot rating based on hundreds and thousands of verified reviews!

So if you’re wondering “what is my phone worth?” and you’re planning to compare phone prices, get an instant price from musicMagpie first. 

Find out more about how selling with musicMagpie works.

How mobile phone recycling works

When you recycle mobile phones with musicMagpie, we inspect the phone and determine whether it can be refurbished, or harnessed for precious resources and metals to refurbish another phone or tech product a customer has recycled with us.

Then, the item is sold on our website at a much cheaper price to brand new. This is because we believe in making phones both accessible yet eco-friendly.

How many gadgets do Brits own?

Brits have a surprising amount of gadgets (including phones) at their disposal. In fact, Brits have...

Get an instant quote to recycle your phone

Free mobile recycling should be quick and easy - and that’s exactly why we’re the best in the UK! Just follow these steps to recycle your phone.

Search for your phone 

Simply search for your phone (or select from the grid above).

Get an instant price

State the condition, storage and network of your phone for an instant price!

Send your phone

Send your phone to us for free using one of our send options. When we receive your phone, we’ll check it over and make sure it matches the description you gave us.

Our tech price promise

If we have to revalue your phone and you’re not quite happy with the new price, we’ll send your phone back absolutely free - no questions asked!

And get paid!

Get paid the same day your phone arrives by bank transfer.

How many people recycle their phones?

32% of Brits were reported to hold on to their tech items ‘just in case’ In fact, mobile phones are held on to the most, with the average person keeping at least two unused phones at home! But why else are Brits holding on to them?

4 in 10 think they might use their old tech one day

27% simply can’t be bothered to do anything with them

1 in 10 give them to their kids as toys

1 in 5 will keep them purely for the memories they hold.

Is recycling phones necessary?

It’s quite clear people want the latest phones to keep inline with the latest technology on the block. However, when we replace our phones for new ones, there’s a tendency to just discard them or keep them in a drawer to gather dust. This causes a few issues:

Depreciation

Phones lose value over time, especially when new models are released. This means the phone you have at the back of your drawer won’t be worth as much as it is now in the months to come.

Isolating resources from circulation

By recycling your phone, you actively help put minerals back into circulation. This saves them from being wasted and placed in landfills, which has been proven to cause harm to the environment.

Phone recycling stats you should know

In general, electronics account for up to 70% of landfill’s toxic waste - with phones being the worst culprit. In fact, according to the 2020 Global E-Waste Monitor Report, in a single month, the world produces approximately 4.5 million metric tonnes of e-waste, of which only 17.4% is recycled.

In fact, building a new smartphone represents 85% to 95% of the device’s CO2 emissions for two years, mainly due to the mining of rare materials. Buying one new phone uses as much energy as recharging and operating a smartphone for ten years!

Read: Our planet vs e-waste

Why should you recycle your mobile phone?

- It saves phones from ending up in landfill

- Phone recycling means materials can pop back into circulation

- It reduces the need to mine ores for new phones

- It’s a safer way to protect the environment, humans and ecosystems

- It helps battle the wider e-waste and social issues of waste dumping

What’s the best way to upgrade a phone?

Buying refurbished phones is one way to make sure your upgrade is eco-conscious (and cost-effective!). But we know that sometimes it’s just not possible. That’s why you can also rent a phone with musicMagpie! We stock iPhones, Samsungs and we have more in store very soon.

Why rent a phone?

- Low monthly payments

- Free upgrade after 12 months

- Pay less in 12 months

- FREE lifetime warranty!

Should I recycle my phone?

Phone recycle schemes help reduce the amount of e-waste sent to dumping grounds in some of the world's poorest regions. E-waste sent to these sites is processed in dangerous conditions and can lead to air, water, and soil pollution.

You could make quite a bit of money by selling your phone with musicMagpie, although the value will drop the longer you leave it lying around.

Phone recyclers salvage many useful materials from old mobile phones. For every 1 million mobiles recycled:

35,724lbs of copper

772lbs of silver

and 75lbs of gold can be recovered.

Can old phones be recycled?

At musicMagpie, you can make a difference and recycle all kinds of phones. Click on the type of phone you have below to get started!

- Sell iPhone

- Sell a Samsung

- Sell an HTC

- Sell a Google Pixel

- Sell an LG

- Sell a BlackBerry

Recycle broken phones

That’s right  - broken phones can still be recycled! If you’re wondering where to recycle broken phones - look no further! Simply select ‘faulty’ when valuing your phone.

Recycle more than just phones!

 

Recycle tech items with us too such as:

- iPads

- Tablets

- MacBooks

- Wearables

- Kindles

- Headphones

...and much more!

 

There are plenty of reasons to recycle your phone: making some money, clearing clutter and helping the environment too.

So don't chuck your phone away, or hold onto it for too long: recycle your mobiles and smartphones with musicMagpie! It’s smart for you...smart for the planet.