Apple releases a set of new iPhones every year, and so does Samsung and every other smartphone manufacturers out there. It has sort of now become a ritual for the consumers, especially the Apple fanboys, to upgrade to the latest and greatest handset their favourite company has to offer.

There is a sure reason why I brought up Apple fanboys. According to a survey conducted by SellCell, these folks are the most loyal bunch as over 90% of them intend to buy another Apple-manufactured phone when it’s time for an upgrade. And to be honest, that shouldn’t sound very surprising for someone a bit familiar with the tech biz.

Samsung users, meanwhile, are not very far behind in terms of brand loyalty. The survey suggests 86% of them would get a Galaxy-branded smartphone the next time they upgrade.

Sure, it’s good to know that consumers around the globe are turning geekier and want nothing but the best technology piece they could get their hands on. But the question that irks is: What happens to the old hardware when you upgrade?

Well, there are lots you can do with the old smartphone. You can use it as a backup when the battery on your new device is dead, or go the recycling route and make some money while you’re at it. Perhaps, you can even pass them on to charities that would later recycle or refurbish the handset. The last thing you wanna do with your old piece of tech is throwing it in some trash can, and here’s why:

Reasons why you should not throw away your old phones

It pollutes the environment

Your old phones, or any device for that matter, might end up in some landfill if thrown away in a trash can. For uninitiated, your old tech stuff is mostly full of toxins — lead, cadmium, arsenic, and more — which if disposed of irresponsibly, would leak into the environment and pollute the air, water, and soil, thus leading to several health hazards and ultimately impacting our life on the planet.

Lithium-ion batteries may explode 

It’s no secret that damaged lithium-ion batteries explode and we’ve read quite a lot of reports online of exploding batteries leading to extreme emergencies. According to a report, courtesy of USA Today, 65% of fires at waste facilities in California in 2017 were caused because of li-ion batteries. 

The report further mentions about an explosion in a New York City garbage truck when the workers compressed the waste resulting the phone batteries to ignite and explode.

Make the technology accessible to the needy 

Not everyone has the financial wherewithal, nor the need, to afford the latest iPhone or Galaxy flagship in the market. According to SellCell, when you choose to recycle your old phone, over 95% of them are refurbished and made available for purchase to new consumers at very cheap prices. Furthermore, you’re indirectly saving the environment as this means a fewer number of new phones have to be manufactured from scratch to meet the global demand.

Make money while you’re at it 

Why not make some money while you’re essentially helping the environment by not throwing your old electronic stuff in the dump. Sounds good right? Many online markets today accept your old devices and in return, they pay you some cash which should help curtail the exorbitant expense of buying a flagship phone these days. 

For those looking to recycle their old device(s), we recommend checking out SellCell as they are known to offer the best prices out there. Another highlight of this particular used phone selling service is that they even accept your broken phones.