Got an old mobile gathering dust? You’re not alone

Across the UK, millions of forgotten phones are tucked away in drawers. Throwing them in the bin wastes rare materials, risks toxic pollution and fuels a global e-waste crisis. That’s where giffgaff can help. With its hassle-free recycling service, you can clear the clutter, earn cash – or even donate it – and help the environment in one simple, secure and cost-free step.

It’s tech recycling made easy and part of giffgaff’s bigger mission to support people, communities and the environment.

The importance of recycling old electronics

Dumping electronics in general waste bins may seem convenient, but it’s a major mistake. Mobile phones contain many valuable materials within their major components. The battery contains lithium and cobalt, which can be extracted and reused. The various circuit boards are packed with gold, silver, copper and palladium, which are all rare, valuable and recyclable. Plastic cases and buttons can be remade into other items, reducing the demand for virgin plastics, and other structural components made from aluminium, tin or steel are among the most widely recycled metals and alloys on earth.

To a user, a mobile phone may seem like a single product, but to giffgaff’s recycling experts, it’s a cornucopia of metals and rare-earth elements which must be reclaimed for reuse.

When a phone is put into the wrong bin, it will either be crushed, burned or sent to landfill. Either way, valuable resources are permanently lost and the risk of hazardous substances leaching from improper disposal can lead to toxic soil and water contamination.

Sadly, it can get worse than that. There is a serious social impact to poor recycling practices. Most discarded electronics from wealthier nations end up in the Global South, in countries like Ghana, India and Indonesia. Here, informal recycling operations expose workers to hazardous chemicals and unsafe conditions. A 2019 report by the Basel Action Network reported that the UK exported more e-waste than any other country in the EU.

By letting giffgaff handle your electronics recycling, you can help to reduce the export of toxic waste and support sustainable practices.

giffgaff’s guide to phone recycling

Recycling your old mobile phone isn’t just a nice thing to do; it’s essential. giffgaff estimates there’s over 55 million phones cluttering up drawers and cupboards in the UK, and to stop them from all being tossed into the wrong bin, the connectivity provider is on a mission to tackle e-waste and give every phone a second life.

To help with this mission, giffgaff has made phone recycling pain-free and potentially profitable too. Visit giffgaffrecycle.com for a step-by-step process to unlock the value from your old tech.

• Enter your device details Pop the make, model, or IMEI number of your device into the search box on giffgaffrecycle.com

• Choose your device Pick your device from the results, and giffgaff will give you an initial sale value

• Describe its condition If your device has a few bumps and bruises, let them know so they can give you the most accurate quote

• Send it for free Use giffgaff Recycle supplied packaging or print your own label to send your device

giffgaff Recycle offers free shipping and will send out packaging too, to make the whole process simple and secure. Payment for your old phone or other tech is made via PayPal or bank transfer and you can also donate some or all of the value of your device directly to Big Issue to help support our vendors.

For phones that are so old they no longer have a trade-in value, or for items like consoles, smartwatches, tablets, Macs and AirPods, giffgaff will still recycle them. One of the many reasons that giffgaff offers a hassle-free and secure service is that it recognises the vast environmental importance of electronics recycling.

giffgaff’s social and environmental commitments

giffgaff is a certified B Corp, which means that the company is committed to meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance and operates with transparency and accountability. Giving everyone access to affordable technology is critical to giffgaff’s goal of closing the digital divide. Through their partnership with Big Issue, giffgaff plans to connect over 900 Big Issue vendors with devices and digital skills by 2026, enabling them to take digital payments alongside support for banking, health and other services.

Beyond this, their 2024 Impact Report details genuine progress in reducing waste and carbon emissions while supporting communities. Some of these environmental gains have come from continuous improvement to their phone recycling service, so to find out what happens to the handsets, we went inside giffgaff’s recycling facility.

What happens to giffgaff’s recycled phones?

giffgaff works in partnership with Likewize to deliver a state-of-the-art recycling service that uses the latest AI automation. All handsets are automatically wiped of data, removing any risk of your data being exposed or compromised. Handsets are then sent for enhanced phone diagnostics and those that can be refurbished are repaired and put through a rigorous 30-point device check to test the functionality of features such as battery life, cameras, screens and speakers. Finally, the AI automation uses large-language processing analytics to cosmetically grade each handset to the same high-quality, guaranteeing consistency.

These tests are set to specific manufacturer standards to ensure that the new owner of the refurbished handset will enjoy maximum reliability and satisfaction.

giffgaff’s next-gen repair

The GSMA is a global group that brings together the mobile telecoms industry to create new ideas that use connectivity to help people, businesses and society. Their strategy towards a circular economy includes a vision for 2050, which aims to ensure that devices will have as long a lifetime as possible and are made with 100% recyclable, recycled content, using 100% renewable energy. Most importantly, no device ends up as waste.

It’s an ambitious target, but giffgaff’s partnership with Likewize is all about ambition. To aid repair and reduce waste, they’re working together to push the boundaries of technical innovation by creating new phone screens from broken or waste ones. Like precious metals, the glass in a screen can be recycled, but it is a more complicated process. Recycling a phone with giffgaff supports ongoing innovation to improve recycling, supporting the GSMA’s vision for 2050.

Recycling mobile phones needn’t be daunting. Thanks to collaboration with experts and a user-first approach that is secure and risk-free, giffgaff proves that sustainability and simplicity can go hand in hand. Your next step towards a greener future is just one recycled phone away.

Recycling for good: how you can help Big Issue

Through our partnership with giffgaff, you can donate some or all of the value of old tech and devices you no longer need. Your donation will go to help power the work of Big Issue Changing Lives CIC, a non-profit community interest company supporting Big Issue vendors. Find out more at giffgaffrecycle.com