Besides selling your used or old mobile phone and giving it out to charities and donations, some people usually prefer recycling it.
It is a good way of ensuring that your phone does not end up in a landfill, saving the environment.
Additionally, in recycling, each component of the phone usually gets disposed of or recycled safely.
Some recycled phone materials include copper, Silver, plastic, and platinum.
Recycling also enables each part of your mobile phone to get maximum benefit.
As it has become common everywhere today, we want to determine if a mobile phone can be recycled in Ireland.
Let’s get started.
Let’s Find Out If You Can Recycle a Mobile Phone in Ireland
Yes, you can recycle a mobile phone in Ireland. Many recycling companies and online phone buyer companies like AthCom will take your phone and give it a second life. Recycling your phone is usually the best option if you love going greener.
It makes every component of your phone be recycled or disposed of safely. Some recycling companies usually pay you for that phone, but others don’t, but at the end of it all, your phone will be in safe hands.
Related:
- Best Time To Trade-In Phone In Ireland? (8 Ways To Maximize Value)
- Can You Sell a Phone That Is Not Paid Off in Ireland? (Answered)
- Can a Mobile Phone Be Recycled in Ireland? (10 Alternatives)
Here are the benefits of recycling your mobile phone in Ireland:
1. Saves Valuable Metals
One amazing thing about your phone is that it comes with precious metals in its switchboard.
So, throwing it is not an option. Metals like Silver, platinum, and palladium in iPhone can be recycled and used again.
Other smartphones come with metals like aluminum and copper and 17 other rare earth precious metals that can be reused during recycling.
2. Regulates eWaste
Mobile phones that are usually thrown away in a landfill end up causing water and soil pollution. Disposed phones emit harmful chemicals like mercury, which negatively affect human beings. Recycling the old phone helps to minimize this occurrence and keep the environment safe for everyone.
Besides the toxic products causing environmental pollution, phones can also cause health complications for humans and animals if disposed of in landfills.
Metals like lead can cause cancer and alter cognitive functions in human beings.
On the other hand, mercury harms animals and usually causes severe sensory impairments, memory loss, and muscle weakness.
That’s why recycling your mobile phone will go a long way in reducing environmental toxins.
3. It’s an Eco-Friendly Process
Phone recycling is an eco-friendly procedure. The process helps you keep harmful products far from the environment or dispose of them safely. Some harmful chemicals in phones include lead, zinc, and cadmium, which are bad for the ecosystem.
Recycling minimizes the accumulation of toxic substances in landfill, making the planet a better place for everyone.
The hazardous products are usually recycled at a confined place and reused without polluting the ecosystem.
4. Saves the Needy
After being recycled and tested to be in good condition, your mobile phone can be sold to someone who can’t get the newer one at an affordable price.
They are usually called refurbished phones. They perform well, just like the new phones.
The buyer gets to experience its features at a lower price while the seller gets the best amount for their phone.
5. Saves Energy
By recycling your mobile phone, you end up saving energy.
Other than selling your phone to a recycling company, you can recycle the mobile phone yourself. Yes, various recycling options for your phone can help you. Take a look.
6. Recycle It Into a Wallet
It is a great idea, especially if you have a functional smartphone. You only have to dismantle the phone and remove every gadget inside it. It would be best if you remain with the outer case only.
Considering your phone type, you will have to create a wallet from it. As simple as that, you get a wallet for yourself.
7. Change It to a Security Camera
You will only spend a little to get a security camera with your mobile phone. You can also utilize popular apps if you have a smartphone.
You will only be required to set up some things manually, and you will be good to go. Then you fix your phone where you want it to be so that you watch any action from a computer or another phone.
8. Create a Universal Remote Control
Many people like using this option, especially with their old smartphones. It does not matter if it’s powered by iOS or Android. You can control whatever you want at home.
Check if your android phone contains an IR blaster for a seamless process. If it has, you can connect your phone to air conditioners and TVs, among other devices.
You will have to install some remote apps and be ready to go. On the other hand, if your smartphone does not come with an IR blaster, you can incorporate an IR blaster connectivity.
9. Consider Making It a Portable Gaming Device
If your phone is powered by Android and contains plenty of internal memory, you can use it as a gaming device for yourself and your kids. It is a good way of repurposing your mobile phone.
Nowadays, there are numerous amazing games on phones which are cheaper compared to installing a PlayStation.
10. Let It Stay in Your Car
Imagine you can use the mobile phone for GPS and turn-by-turn navigation. You only need a phone holder and a portable double-port car charger. Then you fix your phone permanently inside your car. It implies that your other phone will be free from regular charging and overworking.
You can as well play music with the old phone while driving. Other options for recycling your phone include the following:
- Use it as an alarm clock
- Turn it into a schedule tracker
- Utilize it for voice calls and video
- Make it a mobile hotspot
How Much of a Mobile Phone Can Be Recycled?
It is estimated that 80% of your mobile phone can be recycled and utilized as raw materials in industries. It is good to understand that 20% of your mobile phone is made up of copper, which companies use for construction, transport, and electronics.
There is also 20% of aluminum in your mobile phone, which is recycled to be reused in other objects.
The remaining 10%, glass and ceramic, can be used as raw material, while other non-recyclable products companies use them to create energy.
How does phone recycling work? Here is the process.
1. Locate a Mobile Phone Recycler
There are many companies doing phone recycling. You can thoroughly look for a legit one; Even you will be paid for your device if you want cash. Ensure you sell your gadget to a reputable company.
2. Pack the Phone When Shipping It
If you must ship the phone, packing is essential as you want your phone protected. Using plenty of cushioning products, you can strip off the batteries and put them well into a padded box.
You can also use tracking information, so the package arrives safe and sound.
3. Send to Recycling Company
After you finish packaging, you can send your mobile to your preferred recycling facility. You will ask them how they will take care of your device once it arrives.
4. Mobile Phone Identification and Disassembling
Your phone has arrived at the recycling facility. The next step is usually phone identification and disassembly. In this case, some companies usually remove the hard drive and batteries, then crush the entire device into smaller pieces.
When they do that, no one can reuse or repair any parts of your old mobile phone. Your data is secure and does not end up in the wrong hands. You won’t get funny calls from scammers who can access your number in an online database.
On the other hand, some recycling facilities prefer to remove all the valuable features of your phone before they recycle. These companies usually resell some components like screens and memory chips. They will have to remove some components from their original position in your mobile phone, like in the case of a circuit board that needs to be cut into tiny cubes for copper traces to be extracted.
Some recycled components are sold directly to manufacturers or consumers for use in new products. The products include gold, glass, plastics, steel from batteries, and Silver from circuit boards.
What Parts of a Phone Can Be Recycled?
Most mobile phones usually last more than two years before getting replaced with newer models. If your phone is old, recycling companies can recycle some components. Below are different parts of a phone that can be recycled; Have a look.
Battery
Your mobile phone batteries are made up of toxic products like lead, cadmium, and mercury, which are harmful to the environment if thrown into a landfill. That’s why batteries are usually recycled via a process known as Reverse Logistics. This process allows the batteries to be collected when they reach their life cycle and returned to the manufacturer for iPhone recycling.
The Case
Your case is usually manufactured from plastic and metal alloys that are challenging to recycle. However, the case can be repurposed or reused to offer something else, like belt buckles and jewelry bracelets.
Display
You can reuse most screens by exchanging them for parts from other gadgets. Some can also be recycled into new screens to be reused in other parts to repair existing screens or other devices.
Circuit Boards
Several circuit boards are usually manufactured from copper and other metals. During recycling, the metals are removed from the circuit board, melted down, and reused from new products. These parts of a mobile phone are tiny to be separated by hand.
Most companies usually shred them into fragments using good machines that can sense internal plastic casings.
These fragments are then pulverized into dust, then sifted until all the non-metallic materials like glass coverings or plastic casings are no more. The remaining dust is gathered and assembled in large containers, weighed, and distributed to manufacturers to melt them again and make new products like cables, wires, and circuit boards.
Memory Card and RAM
Your memory card is the frequently recycled item from your phone.
You use it to save your photos, music, and videos. On the other hand, RAM is also recycled and reused. You can always recycle the RAM chips to be reused with other gadgets.
Camera System
The camera component comprises the lens, camera sensor, and other related parts, which are recycled. You can only recycle the camera system if you have a phone problem or want to upgrade it.
If your phone is in good shape, recycling this part is unnecessary.
Other parts that can be recycled include:
- The aluminum you use in phone cases can be melted down, and when it is in liquid form, it can be used to manufacture aluminum products.
- Other precious metals like Silver, gold, platinum, palladium, and copper are separated from the phone circuit board and reprocessed to be used again.
- Plastic in phone cases is processed into pellets and can be manufactured into new products such as pallets.
- Speakers, antenna, and keypad
What Happens to Recycled Mobile Phones?
Recycled mobile phones are usually disassembled by hand. Then their components are sorted into metals, glass, batteries, and circuit boards. From there, any information or data inside the phone is destroyed. At the same time, the circuit boards are separated into Silver, copper, and gold so that you can use them for electronics, jewelry, and currency.
Batteries are also crashed and made into various materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphene, which are used to manufacture other new batteries.
The display glass is usually recycled into another new glass and plastic into new plastic.
In short, people usually sell and use recycled mobile phones in form of various products.
Even if they are recycled into another thing, it’s still valuable to you in a manner you can’t explain.
Other people who prefer recycling their phones themselves end up using them as security cameras, gaming devices, navigation systems, etc.
Conclusion
You can recycle a mobile phone in Ireland. The options are plenty.
You can do it yourself or sell your mobile phone to a recycling company for recycling.
Doing that saves the environment and the phone’s precious metals. It’s an eco-friendly process and saves energy.
The parts that can be recycled include batteries, displays, and circuit boards, among others.
Mobile phones add value to life, but you can’t use them for a lifetime. You will have to replace or upgrade to newer ones. Every time you want to get rid of that old mobile phone, you can recycle it or sell it to AthCom so that we can improve it and help benefit someone else.
Sources
What to do With your Old Mobile Phone
Mobile Phones Recycling; Process to Recycle and Ways to Dispose
