Why Should You Recycle Your Old Smartphones and Tablets?

16 December 2022

The exponential growth of smartphone use over the past few years can be attributed to the continuous improvements in network connections and dependence on online apps. Even the tablet market has been growing for the last couple of years due to the same reasons.

While many people stick to their smartphones and tablets for a long time, a huge percentage of people upgrade their devices from time to time. As for those who can afford to buy the newest and latest models of the said devices, they end up keeping their phones and tablets in their drawers or storage rooms. They may hold these devices as a part of their collection, these people end up contributing to the growth of potential e-waste in the future.

Keeping Old Devices is a Huge Problem

If you are currently keeping an old smartphone or tablet in your drawer, you are contributing to the waste problem on the planet. You see, out of more than 15 billion mobile devices that are being utilised by people today, around 5 billion of them may become e-waste soon. This estimated figure is drastic considering that one smartphone is already comprised of rare materials that can still be recycled. But since many of these devices are just kept, these materials end up deteriorating until they can no longer be processed anymore.

The rarity of these materials such as silver, gold, palladium, and more makes it a huge problem given that they can be difficult to source. Their values can be also high. And without recycling them properly, they will only go to waste.

Major Reasons for Keeping Old Devices

Many people, however, have some reasons as to why they keep their old phones or tablets. One of the reasons is that they think they can use them again in the future. It can be a reasonable one as their new phones might not work or get lost, converting their old phone or tablet as a backup or spare device. Others, alternatively, keep their old devices so they can sell them in the future. They may also do this since they believe that these devices may boast a significant value as time passes, especially if they come from a respectable phone maker.

Recycling Old Devices is Nonnegotiable

Some of these reasons may be valid. However, the rarity of the materials that can be found inside these devices makes it more reasonable for them to be recycled. Additionally, the deterioration of smartphone and tablet components may only pose danger to the environment, especially with their batteries, logic boards, and others.

Another reason recycling old smartphones and tablets is more highly encouraged than keeping them is they can reduce the number of e-wastes in landfills. Phones, tablets, and other devices should be discarded well to ensure that their components can decompose properly. Proper disposal of these devices is also necessary so that rare materials can be extracted and used again. They are often used to generate another set of phones, tablets, and other devices.

One more benefit of recycling old devices is it can provide users with some cash. Recycling centres often give money to people who will be sending them their old smartphones and tablets. This system encourages more people to send their old stuff in instead of keeping them. To know how to prepare your old smartphones, tablets, or other scrap products before turning them in, you can contact us at Victorian Metal Traders.

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