Each year Americans discard approximately 130 million cell phones, totaling about 65,000 tons of waste. Unfortunately, less than five percent of these phones are recycled. The rest end up in junk or desk drawers, or worse, in landfills. Since a typical phone contains materials like arsenic, zinc and lead, throwing out old cell phones is not only wasteful, it’s dangerous. If disposed of in landfills, these materials can seep into groundwater. If incinerated, the same chemicals end up in the air we breathe. By recycling your phone you are helping to preserve the environment.
Recycling cell phones helps the environment by keeping old, unused phones out of landfills. Cricket strives to be a strong community partner and this is just one more way Cricket is protecting and improving the communities where we live, work and play.
Make sure your phone is de-activated. All personal information is removed from refurbished phones; however, any sensitive information should be removed prior to donating your cell phone. This is easy and quick.
Phones, batteries, and accessories, no matter how badly damaged, should never be thrown in the trash. They should always be recycled. However, if you only have the phone, that’s great, too!
Phones and accessories that cannot be refurbished are recycled. The plastics are melted down and the metals are extracted and reused. Any remaining waste is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. Nothing ends up in a landfill.
They are shipped to our partner, ReCellular, where they are refurbished and used as a low-cost alternative to a brand new phone. This is an important way to provide affordable telecommunications technology to those in need. Phones and accessories that cannot be refurbished are recycled and any materials that cannot be used are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.
Everyday during normal business hours at all Cricket Corporate-Owned or full service retail locations. These stores are open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Click here, to find the store nearest to you.
