According to Telecoms and IT industry analyst Ovum around 8 million mobile phones were recycled in the UK last year, which is around twice as many as were recycled two years ago.
The UK has become the most developed and competitive mobile phone recycling market in the world. The increase in us recycling our old handsets seems to be driven by financial gain rather than environmental benefits and Ovum estimates that 26.5% of the 30.2 million old mobile phones recycled in Western Europe last year were from the UK.
Jeremy Green, co-author of the Ovum report, said “The UK has seen an influx of online players that offer cash for old mobile phones. This increase in competition has resulted in a more cut-throat market and a commercial business model that has moved away from the original intention of responsible recycling and reducing landfill.”