If you are, your phone is one of about 17.5 million phones currently in use, and that number grows every year. But what do you do with your phone when it breaks or you’re ready to upgrade? You might pass your old phone on to friends, your brother or sister, or even your parents. You might hold on to it and keep it in a cupboard or drawer, just in case it might come in handy "one day" (it’s estimated that 12 million phones suffer this fate!). And what if you want to get rid of the phone all together?

How can I recycle my phone?

Pass it on

If you are thinking of upgrading your phone, think about who might get use out of your existing phone and pass it on to them. This is great because you are extending the life of the phone - making the most of the money you spent on the phone, and better use of the materials and energy (electricity, transport, etc.) that went into making the phone. Make sure you let them know that they can recycle their phone if it breaks, or once they no longer have a use for it.

Recycle your phone

MobileMuster is a national mobile phone recycling program run by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, which includes major phone companies and service providers.

They have over 1,000 drop-off points around Australia (including Telstra Shops), and it’s easy to find the nearest one - you just type in your post code and search.

Spread the word

Next time you’re talking to a friend, family member or workmate about their new phone, make sure you ask them what they’re going to do with their old phone and let them know that they can recycle it.

If you know your friends, family or workmates have a bunch of old phones lying around, organise to collect them up and take them to a recycling program. If your work has an intranet or message board, why not post a notice there? That way you’re spreading the word and getting a bunch of people to recycle at the same time.

Why bins don’t like mobiles…

Mobile phones contain metal (for the battery, circuit board etc.), and some of these are potentially toxic. Cadmium, lead, nickel, mercury, manganese, lithium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, beryllium, and copper are just some of the metals that might be in a phone. These metals can be dangerous to the environment, and us, if not properly disposed of. And of course most phone cases are made of plastic which are generally not biodegradable - not very good for the environment if they end up at the tip.

What this means is that it’s not a good idea to simply chuck your old phone in the bin.

About 90% of your mobile phone can be recycled and used to create new products. A survey of phone owners found that about 4% of mobile phone owners currently recycle their phone. While 4% may not sound like a lot - and it would certainly be great if more people did it! - this will stop around 55 tonnes of mobile phone material from ending up at the garbage dump each year.