Mobile Phone Recycling

It seems that almost everyone has a mobile phone these days, particularly as they have now become an integral part of life in modern society. Most mobile phone providers' also offer upgrades on an annual basis meaning that the number of phones in circulation is increasing dramatically. Current figures put the number of phones in circulation at around 90 million in the UK alone with 18 million new phones being bought every year. A phone may change hands a number of times before it reaches the end of its life but when it does, what happens to it?

Nowadays, it is no longer legal to deposit mobile phones in landfill so you cannot just throw it out along with your household waste. Mobile phones have toxic components, for example, in the LCD display and the battery and can contain some gold, silver, cadmium and mercury. If these leak out of landfill sites they can contaminate the surrounding land and waterways. Under recent European legislation (WEEE), producers now have a responsibility to dispose of mobile phones in an environmentally friendly way. Consequently, most mobile phone providers have now signed up with Fonebak, a company that have taken on the task of disposing of mobile phones either by recycling them or sending them out for reuse in accordance with the WEEE directive. According to Fonebak, a whopping 77% of the population have a mobile phone and many people own more than one.

Fonebak have effectively provided a solution for mobile phone operators to dispose of their phones safely so you can always return your mobile phone to your network provider. However, the effectiveness of this depends on how many people actually bother to return their old phones. Unfortunately, there are still mobile phones being thrown out along with household rubbish and ironically, most of the phones that are supposedly disposed of are still in good working order and as such can be invaluable for developing countries where buying a new mobile phone is still too costly. So what other options are there for disposing of your old, unwanted or broken mobile phones?

Donating your phone to Oxfam

You can deposit your old phone at any Oxfam shop or simply post your phone in a Jiffy bag. If you have a lot of phones to donate, they will collect them free of charge. You can find out more about donating your phone to Oxfam along with details of where to send them on the Oxfam website at http://www.oxfam.org.

According to Oxfam, each mobile phone is worth around £5 to them. They maintain that they've been able to raise more than £300,000 just by recycling mobile phones and in doing so, have stopped 22,500 kg of waste being deposited in landfill. When they receive your mobile phone they sell it on to their recycling partner who will either dismantle or recycle the parts, or if they are in working order, will sell them on to be used in different countries around the world.

Donate your phone to ActionAid

ActionAid collect all brands of mobile phones but they cannot accept chargers. All you have to do to donate your mobile phone is send it to them in one of their freepost bags which you can get by contacting them via their website at http://www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk if you are in the UK or you can find more information from http://www.actionaid.org if you are outside the UK. Again, if you have more than 20 or so phones to donate, they will send a courier to collect them free of charge.

Once a phone is received by ActionAid they will either sell it on via one of their outlets or their eBay shop for reuse if it is in working order, or will sell or recycle the components to another company if it isn't.

Recycle your phone with Freecycle

Freecycle works on the principle that one man's trash is another man's treasure and of course this is certainly true where mobile phones are concerned. Freecycle is a global network of individual groups run by local volunteers that allows people to post details of what they are offering and also what they are looking for. Basically if you have unwanted goods, like your old mobile phone for example, that could be used by someone else, it allows you to find a home for it. Similarly, if you are looking for something in particular, you may find that it is being offered on Freecycle or you can post a wanted message. You can find more information about this option at http://www.freecycle.org.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no need for anyone to deposit their mobile phone in the bin given the number of options now available to dispose of them in a way that is beneficial for the environment and for other people. If you cannot sell or donate your old phone to friends and family then simply check out what avenues there are for mobile phone disposal in your local area or contact one of the organisations listed above.

Dave McEvoy is an expert in skips and skip hire. Read his 'National Skip Hire Guide' for more useful information and waste disposal advice.

Method of Tracing Mobile Phone Caller Numbers

Tracking down the origination of cell phone caller number is difficult when compared to a landline or fixed line number. Moreover, mobile numbers are not listed like landline numbers in a specific directory which makes their tracing difficult, but not impossible. Earlier cell phone companies used to charge money to trace any specific cell number requested, but recent advances in technology made it possible to track them without any associated fees for tracing.

If you have the desire to find the caller, you can obtain it in the following manner.

Internet is the best place to trace incoming numbers to cell phones. You can start off with your own number on any reputed online search engine. The results of that search will certainly surprise you. You be amazed at the accurate information available on the net. Once you are satisfied with the outcome, you can type the number you want to track. The number you want to track may be listed somehow on many sites, with the owner placing it for some other purpose. This way you can track that number and be certain of the identification of the caller. This is the surest way to know about unlisted numbers. Their ignorance is our fortune and you can rest assured of the source of your caller.

If by typing the entire number along with the area code does not produce the result; you can delete the area code and look for the results. If this is also not successful, if you know the state to which this area code belongs, you can delete the area code and include the state code for results. By trial and error, you can get the desired results comfortably.

You can look into the online directories which may throw some light on the required mobile phone caller number. It is not guaranteed that you would get the required information, but at least you would get the cell company's name that provides the service to that cell number. You can contact that cell company about the possible billing address of the number.

In addition to these, you can also make use of the reverse identification mobile phone detective websites and mobile phone users "National Registry".

There are several reverse identification websites that offer facilities to track the origination of mobile caller numbers, some charge fee and some others do not. In my experience, by paying a small fee either as a membership for life or for a particular period, you can save time. These sites provide valid information worth the money spent on them. You can obtain complete information and then you will realize that the money spent was worthwhile. Some websites ask you to register by providing all your particulars without any fee, but send some advertisements or mails in return for free membership. It is advisable to join a reputed website that provides accurate information. This can be tested with your own number, upon satisfactory results; you can enlist in that website.

This way you can track any cell phone caller number and be assured of the person calling from the other side of the phone.

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