This is An Urgent Call to get old phones ringing again

Let’s hear it for those old phones. You remember your old phone don’t you? Back when it was brand new to you and you couldn’t get enough of it’s shiny screen. It’ super-duper front and back cameras and that impressive, upgraded performance.

It was the phone that kept you connected to your friends and family. It helped you have those proper chats when you needed them most. It allowed you to create those memories and served you well with those selfies with mates to prove it. Your old phone might be a year old, or it could be 2 or 4. An old phone isn’t defined by a number. It’s just the one you’re not using anymore.

But, where is that old phone now? Is it sitting in landfill, contributing to the escalating problem of e-waste*? Or is it lying in a cluttered drawer, forgotten amongst those old festival ticket stubs, neon wristbands and paper clips? Or are you saving it for a rainy day that might never come?

This is an urgent call to get old phones ringing again. You can do your part by digging out your old phone. Then trade it in or recycle it with giffgaff. Go on. It’s better for the planet and your wallet too.

And it’s easy as option 1, 2, 3.

1. Trade it in

See if you can trade in your phone with us*. Before it goes to a new home, we’ll give it a nice tidy. And we’ll give you some cash in return. It’s a win-win. What’s not to love? Just visit our Sell my phone page.

*Terms apply, see https://www.giffgaffrecycle.com/terms Sell my phone

2. Recycle it

If your phone’s a bit too old or damaged to be refurbished, fear not. We’ll help you find your nearest recycling point via our mates at Recycle Your Electricals.

While recycling your phone won’t get you any cash, you’ll be helping create something brand new. It’s doing a lot of good for our environment, so you should feel pretty chuffed with yourself afterwards.

Recycle it

3. Gift it for good

That’s right. When you trade your old phone in with giffgaff, you can donate its value to the Neighbourly Foundation. This’ll help fund grassroot causes that support local communities. You can choose whether to make a donation of 10%, 25%, 50%, or 100%. It’s entirely up to you.

Gift for good

Research by giffgaff reveals a whole-lot-a truths about old phones

An insight-led bunch - we were keen to uncover some of the reasons why people hang on to their old phones and what we actually found surprised us. Think you know why we’re all so hesitant to get our phones back into the world? Might be time to think again..

We teamed up with YouGov and put some questions to 2,000 people in the UK to find out their feelings and behaviours around old phones and the growing problem of e-waste.

Turns out 72% of them didn’t actually know what e-waste was in the first place. Once that was explained we were able to underpin some of the reasons people are often reluctant to part with their old phones.

67% admitted to having one or more old mobile phones lying around their house and 38% said they find it difficult to donate their old phones. When asked why they do not recycle their old phones, 35% said they don’t know where to recycle or trade them in. On the flip side, 70% said they would like to recycle or trade-in their device because it's better for the environment.

Then there’s the flip side - 12% said they felt too emotionally attached to their old handsets to get rid of them, whilst 22% cited personal information like photos etc being on their old phones.

59% said they would be more inclined to get rid of their old phones if they could get some money back for it in return - cue our trade-in capability.

Meanwhile 54% think companies should all be doing more to raise awareness of e-waste. But 68% believe the responsibility lies with the government and think councils should make recycling old phones easier via regular collections.

All this data and more only goes to show how timely this Urgent Call really is - asking people to let their old phones ring again.