A new mobile trade in site has recently been launched by electronics retailers PC World and Currys which will allow you to trade in your unwanted mobile and tablet devices in return for vouchers which can be spent in stores or online.
The new scheme which is similar to those offered at other online mobile recycling sites, is as close to a new for old trade in service as you can get as you will be trading in your old mobile phones or tablet computer for vouchers that can be used to buy a new mobile or other electronic goods.
The site promises to monitor and update prices on a regular basis in order to be as competitive as possible. At this time the maximum they are offering for any unwanted electronic item is 250 in gift cards.
How it Works
Visit the Currys / PC World trade in website.
Find the device you want to sell by using the search bar or search by manufacturer facility
Select the device you want to sell and you will be quoted a working and non-working price.
If you are happy with the price then register your details and proceed through the checkout.
Once you have checked out you will be sent a return freepost envelope which you can send your goods in. You must send the handset, battery and battery cover, you can send any accessories you have with the phone to be recycled but it will not increase the price of the trade in. At any time you will be able to login to your account to check the progress of your order.
Upon receipt of your unwanted mobile phone it will be checked to make sure it matches the condition you specified and your gift card will be sent out within 4 working days. Your gift card can be used at any PC World or Currys store in the UK or via their website.
What Happens to My Old Phone Once it Has Been Received?
Currys and PC World state that 100% of the handsets that they receive through the site will be recycled in line with current EU laws. 85% of the handsets that they get will be refurbished by their engineers so they can be resold in the UK and developing countries that rely on mobile phones as their main way of communication.
According to the latest figures published last week by the Environment Agency the UK is now more than doubling the small WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) targets that were set by the European Union for the year ending 2011.
The figures that were published showed that through 2011, 31,331 tonnes of small household WEEE were collected. This works out at 8.3kg of WEEE per person, the target states that 4kg must be recycled per head, based on a population of around 62 million. In percentages 34.3% of all electronic equipment that was sold in 2011 was recycled correctly, this compares to 31.5% in 2010, but these amounts are still some way short of the 45% target set by the EU for 2016.
A spokesperson working for the government department responsible for UK WEEE said The United Kingdom is currently collecting record levels of WEEE and for the first time we have achieved a separate collection rate of household WEEE in excess of 8kg per head. They added There is still much work to be done in order to meet the higher target of 45% of WEEE placed on the market by 2016, we are currently working very closely with our partners in order to hit this target.
Despite the targets being hit on small household WEEE the targets for business and non household WEEE still remains a big problem. There was no improvements on the collection and recycling rates between 2010 – 2011.
Small household WEEE includes the following equipment:
Kitchen appliances such toasters, kettles, irons, bread makers, drink blenders, coffee machines, vacuum cleaners, electric heaters, fryers and sandwich makers.
Mobile phones and smartphones
MP3 players and iPods
DIY equipment including drills and other small power tools.
Electronic garden equipment including hedge trimmers, lawnmowers and strimmers.
Personal care devices including hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, clippers and curlers.
Games consoles and hand-helds
Any other battery powered devices including watches and clocks, radios, CD players, Christmas tree lights, printers, calculators, DVD players, video recorders, cameras, telephones, torches, SAT Navs, Tablet computers, sewing machines, battery powered toys and anything that you can think of…
Most council recycling sites will accept of the items above and will dispose of them in the correct manner. If you want to earn some money for your unwanted electronic devices you can visit O2 Recycle or Gadgets 4 Everyone.
Popular Macclesfield based CD, DVD and console game recycling website, Music Magpie has recently announced that they enjoyed their busiest day ever in January this year as people got rid of any unwanted Christmas presents to earn some extra cash.
Music Magpie say that on one day in January they bought an amazing 602,417 unwanted CDs, DVDs and games off people in the UK. This amount was a huge six times more than their normal daily amount. The most common items that were sold on the day included Guns N Roses Greatest Hits, Lord of the Rings box sets and Nirvana Albums.
The company said that people wasted no time at Christmas selling their unwanted gifts as nearly a million items were traded in on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Some of the most popular items that were sold for cash on these days included U2s album and Dirty Dancing DVDs.
Any unwanted items that are sold to Music Magpie are cleaned and repackaged then sold through their Thats Entertainment brand which has 26 shops on high streets around the country and a successful website.
At a time when other entertainment companies including Game and HMV are struggling to compete with cheap online downloads, Music Magpie are thriving as people get rid of their old DVDs and CDs. The company has also thrived as people have looked to earn extra money by de-cluttering and selling unwanted goods in hard economic times.
In the year to May 31st last year their turnover almost tripled from the previous year to 31 million. Steve Oliver, the CEO of MusicMagpie who founded the company 5 years ago thinks that their turnover will triple again this year as the second hand entertainment market continues to expand. He also said Consumers in the UK are currently watching what they spend as well as continually looking for ways to earn some extra money.
Entertainment Magpie currently employ more than 900 people in the UK and have over 6 million customers. The company also recently announced that they are going to open a new warehouse in Stockport that is likely to create an additional 100 jobs.
Music Magpie have also recently announced that they now pay by M&S e-vouchers as well as cash so consumers can get their money faster. They have also launched a Facebook store so people can keep chatting on the social media site whilst earning extra money at the same time.
The company is backed by private equity firm, LDC and their chairman is former Royal Mail boss Allen Leighton.
A new report which was published by mobile phone network, O2 has revealed that 17 million old gadgets including mobile phones, SAT NAVs and MP3 players are not being recycled correctly every year and are ending up at Britains landfill sites.
If the 17 million unwanted gadgets were all sent in to a recycling site then it would generate a massive 762 million every year would would work out at 43.54 each for their owners.
Many of the electronic devices that are ending up at landfill have a circuit board, LCD screen and are battery powered. All these parts contain harmful materials like lead, cadmium and mercury which are hazardous both to ourselves and the environment.
In California there is now a law that stops anyone from putting mobile phones in the bin, all mobile manufacturers in the state must have a collection and recycling program for their old phones. Even though mobile phones and other electronic devices contain toxic materials it is not illegal to put them in the bin and send them straight to landfill.
In order to try and get some of the 17 million gadgets diverted away from landfill the third biggest recycling site in the country, O2 Recycle has set out their Think Big Blueprint. The Think Big Blueprint is a three year sustainability plan for people and the planet. Through three key goals and forty individual commitments O2 will use their understanding of digital technologies to build a more sustainable future for young people, O2 customers and the planet in which we all live.
Some of the main objectives that the Blueprint covers are:
Halve emissions from their network by no longer providing chargers as standard with new mobile phones
Reduce the volume of carbon emitted by the network by as much as 4 million tonnes per year
Ensure all major suppliers take measure to reduce their environmental impact and increase their contributions in the community
Help 10 million people live in more sustainable ways through O2s products and services
Save the NHS over 1 million hours of health care time
Help 1 million young people develop skills for life in the UK
Chief Executive of O2, Ronan Dunne said As a leading provider of digital services with over 22 million customers, we are in a unique position to use our understanding of technology to make sustainable living a reality. He added The Blueprint is an essential part of our long term business strategy which will enable us to encourage positive environmental change in the UK.
O2 Recycle also hopes that in the future their recycling site will be able to expand to buy other electronic products such as tablet computers, laptops and speakers.
According to the latest figures that have just been released by one of the UKs biggest recycling sites, a record amount of mobile handsets were recycled in January this year.
Its thought that as many as 2.63 million worth of unwanted mobile handsets were sent in to be recycled last month and a lot of the money that people earned was used to pay off Christmas debts. In total 2.63 million mobiles is an increase of 30% on the amount sent in for recycling in January last year.
After an expensive Christmas it seemed that many consumers took the opportunity to dig out and recycle their old phones in order to get some quick cash to pay off their credit card and other bills that have accumulated over the festive season.
According to one mobile recycling site the most popular handset to be recycled last month was the Apple iPhone 3GS which got people an average of 104 each. Other handsets that were also recycled the most included the iPhone 4, Blackberrys and various HTC smartphones. As smartphones are becoming more popular the amount of them being recycled is increasing gradually, its expected that this figure will keep rising as better technology gets better.
Forty percent of the most recycled handsets included Blackberrys which included the Curve 8520, Bold 9700, Torch 9800 and Curve 8900. Its not surprising that so many different Blackberry models are being recycled as the manufacturer makes up 28% of all UK smartphone sales, however such a large number being sent in for recycling does outweigh their sales figures.
If your thinking about recycling your unwanted mobile phone for cash the following are the top 5 most recycled handsets for January 2012 and the recyclers that pay the highest cash prices for them:
Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB – Highest Price 106 at Fonehub
Apple iPhone 4 16GB – Highest Price 241 at Fonebank
Blackberry Curve 8520 – Highest Price 52.10 at Fonehub
If you are selling one of the mobiles above or any other model make sure you shop around to find the highest prices before letting it go, you can compare the prices of all mobile recyclers at sellmymobile.
It was announced last week by the Home Secretary, Theresa May that the government would be banning scrap yards from paying cash to people who bring in scrap metal to be recycled.
The ban on selling scrap metal for cash comes after an estimated 15000 tonnes of metal was stolen and sold in the UK last year.Half of this amount was from the metal industry but the other 7500 tonnes was stolen from public places such as railways, other transport networks, electricity wires, war statues and even church roofs.
The ban is expected to go before a House of Lords committee today (30th January) in order to get approval. Lord Henley the home office minister for crime prevention is expected to speak in support of the ban.
Many cash transactions that take place at yards for scrap metal do so without any form of ID being needed or proof that the individual actually owns the metal they are selling. As well as this because of the high number of cash transactions that are taking place some scrap yards are using this in order to evade tax.
The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) strongly opposes the ban and says that if it is made law then the trade will be driven underground to illegal scrap yards. However the BMRA do say that the theft of metal is a big issue for the industry and do welcome the Governments focus on it.
The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper said that the Police need the power to close scrap yards who are breaking the rules, if the ban was to come in the Police would not be able to find any illegal scrap yards to close them down. She also thinks that a cashless system would push scrap dealing underground and make policing much harder.
Its expected that Labour will propose alternative options to a complete ban including creating a license scheme for scrap traders instead of the current local authority registration or giving Police better powers to close dodgy scrap yards.
Modern metal recyclers have invested millions of pounds in the last decade in advanced research in order to achieve much better recycling and recovery rates on scrap cars. This research has helped to divert thousands of tonnes of metal from ending up at landfill.
Scrap yards say they do work by the rules and do have the right security procedures already in place with most of them reporting to take photo ID or proof of address. All transactions are recorded on TV and anyone turning up in a taxi or on foot will be turned away so a full number plate can be taken down. Legitimate scrap deals say they suffer significantly from metal theft and will inform the police if anything they receive is considered suspicious.
If you have an old or retro games console sat in your house collecting dust, or have recently upgraded to the latest system or held held device you may want to recycle your unwanted console to get some cash for it.
There are many recycling websites in the UK that now offer great cash or voucher payments for old and even broken gaming consoles and handhelds. The most popular and highest paying recycling sites for gamers are as follows:
Gadgets 4 Everyone
Gadgets 4 Everyone is a brand new recycling site where you can sell many different electronic devices including games consoles. At present they will buy all models of PSP, XBox, PS3, Wii, DS and retro consoles including the Nintendo 64 and Gameboy. They pay cash of up to 125 which is sent via BACS, Paypal or cheque once they have received your item.
O2 Recycle is one of the biggest and most popular gadget recycling sites in the UK. Both O2 and non O2 customers can sell unwanted electronic items in return for cash. As well as SAT NAVs, mobile phones, MP3 players, tablets and digital cameras they will also buy old handheld games consoles. The handheld devices they will currently buy include all Sony PSP and Nintendo DS models.
At O2 Recycle all the profits they make go to their Think Big initiative which aims to help turn around the lives of young people living in the UK. By recycling your goods here not only are you helping the environment but you will also be helping the initiative.
Tradeyourgames is a brand new unique site where you can sell used console games, Blu-Rays and console systems for either cash or to trade in and receive credit for them to buy games or Blu-Rays off their site. This is the only site in the UK that works like on the high street where you are given credit to buy video games for your unwanted ones. You can also choose to get payment in cash via cheque rather than credit.
They do not buy loads of different consoles but the list is always changing so worth a look for the latest prices, also a great site to check out if you have games to sell. They do buy accessories such as Singstar mics.
Do you have an old mobile phone knocking about the house that you want to recycle and are a resident of the Republic of Ireland? If your answers are yes why not check out the prices at the following UK mobile recyclers.
The two mobile recyclers listed below allow Irish consumers to get the most money for their old mobile phones and do a little more towards helping the environment in a positive way:
Get up to 246 at Money4urMobile Ireland
Money4urMobile is part of Redeem PLC who are one of the markets leading mobile recyclers with more than 10 years experience in the industry. They offer cash payments of up to 246 per old mobile handset you send in via either cheque or bank transfer. All payments are processed once your old items have been received and sent out the next working day.
Money4urMobile IE will also pay cash for your unwanted Apple iPods, iPhones and other Apple devices.
Once the company receives your old handsets they will refurbish them and then sell them on in developing countries where mobile phones are the main form of communication. Any mobile phones that are beyond repair will have the precious materials removed and then the remaining materials will be melted down to help recover energy.
Envirofone is one of the largest mobile recycling companies who have operated in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland since 2006. Envirofone is by far one of the most popular online recyclers and you may have seen one of their recent advertising campaigns online, in the newspaper or on TV.
Since launching 5 years ago they have paid out millions of Euros to over 2 million Irish customers and recycled or re-used hundreds of thousands of mobile handsets for their customers.
They will pay up to 474 per mobile phone you send in and payment is sent via Cheque, Paypal or gift card within a couple of days of themreceivingyour old stuff. They offer freepost delivery for your unwanted items and will even buy damaged handsets. If you choose to accept gift vouchers then you will get a higher value than the standard cash price. They are currently offering Argos e-cards which can be used in Argos or Homebase stores.
Popular gold, silver, platinum and jewellery recycling site Post Gold for Cash, has recently announced that they have now paid out a huge 10 million to their customers since the site launched.
