Help the environment by recycling your mobile phone in the UK - By: Felicity Lightbody

It is safe to say that after the invention of fire and wheel, the next big breakthrough in technology seems to be the mobile phone. The mobile phone changed the way how we live like very few inventions that came before it. It has become such a big part of our lives that many people who own one probably cannot even think about leaving their home without it. In fact there is even a word that has been jokingly coined witch is "Nomophobia" which is basically an abbreviation describing a person's fear of not having their mobile phone with them at all times.

Of course as with any technology there is a downside to all this. Each year literally tens of millions of such mobile phones cease to be used. This means that there are tens of millions of mobile phones that get discarded. In fact according to a study done in 2005 in the UK alone, nearly hundred million customers discarded their old mobile phones and upgraded to a newer model! Needless to say from an environmental perspective this is stupendous news! The reason is of course mobile phones contain several poisonous chemicals which are hazardous to the environment.

Some of the nastiest chemicals found in mobile phones are Mercury, lead, cadmium, polyvinyl chloride, brominated flame retardants (BFR) and PVC. Some of these metals and chemicals can cause anything from cancer to brain development problems in children. Basically as we can see it is not a good thing for mobile phones to be disposed of in landfills. Over time these chemicals and metals will seep in to the ground and eventually pollute the water table. These reasons alone are enough to make a person think seriously about recycling their mobile phones.

Even if a person does not recycle their mobile phone for environmental reasons, it should at least be done for profit. There are many mobile phone recycling companies in the market today which can help you discard your phone in a safe and environmentally sound way. Not many people know that a mobile phone has precious metals such as gold, platinum, silver, copper and coltan in them. In fact there's more gold in one ton mobile phones, as there is in 17 tons of gold ore! Mobile phone recycling companies will be able to either separate the poisonous and non-poisonous chemicals, or will re-sell it for somebody else to use. There are many charitable institutions today that specialize in this.

About the Author

Felicity is a part-time journalist, writing occassional pieces in the UK on telecommunications and mobile devices. See how much you could when you mobile phone recycle, as well as comparing the price on all the phone recycling companies like Mopay at recyclemobilephones.co.uk For more information on this, please visit recyclemobilephones.co.uk Blog.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Felicity-Lightbody/39388

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