There are some things you can simply toss in the garbage when you don’t need them anymore, but that’s not the case with electronics. Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a big problem in the world today. If you have a phone you need to get rid of and you don’t want to harm the environment, here are your best options.
Sell It
If you want to get the most money out of your phone, the best way to do that is to sell it to somebody you know. Brand new phones cost a lot of money without a two-year contract and people break phones all the time, so there’s a good market for used phones. Perhaps the biggest benefit to this is the fact that you can set your price so you don’t have to settle for less than you think your phone is worth.
As far as the downsides of selling your phone to somebody, there are plenty. For starters, you have to find somebody who wants to buy your phone. If you’re dealing with a friend or family member, they may expect a discount. Even if you find someone who’s willing to buy your phone for the price you set, you have to make sure your phone is ready to sell. The best way to do this is to perform a factory reset, but that adds more time to the process of selling your phone. While it’s a good way to pocket some cash, selling a phone can be a hassle in many ways.
Recycle It
For some people, convenience is the priority when it comes to getting rid of a phone. If you don’t care about getting any money for your phone, there are lots of choices when it comes to recycling. As a matter of fact, your cell phone carrier may take your old phone and recycle it for you. You may also be able to take your phone to an electronics store where they can recycle it for you.
The fact of the matter is, recycling isn’t as convenient as it could be and you don’t get any money, both of which are big downsides. To start with, you have to remove all your data from your phone, although you should be doing that anyway if you’re recycling or selling a phone. Depending on where you live, you might also have to drive a while to find a place to recycle your phone.
ecoATM
The best way to dispose of your old phone is to take it to an ecoATM location and recycle it. So, what is ecoATM? Instead of having to go to an electronics or cell phone store, ecoATM allows you to dispose of your phone by taking it to a convenient kiosk. These kiosks can be found in stores, malls and many other locations.
With ecoATM, all you have to do is put your phone in a machine and you get an immediate offer. If you want to recycle your phone, ecoATM will take care of that and give you a little bit of money to pocket. You can find ecoATM demonstration videos that show you exactly how the whole thing works. The only thing you have to do is reset your phone to clear your data from it before visiting a kiosk.
With the e-waste problem we’re facing today, you have a responsibility to get rid of electronics in a responsible way. However, you shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to do that. With ecoATM, you get a little bit of money in your pocket and you don’t have to worry about the hassle of selling your phone.
