8 Ways to Recycle Your Old Smartphone

Zoe Fox

What did you do with your old smartphone after you upgraded to the latest iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy III?

According to a November 2012 survey by Lookout, 62% of American households have old cellphones lying around, unused. Discarded iPhones alone account for $9 billion of unused goods in consumers' homes.

If you're among the 62% with dormant phones, we challenge you this Earth Day to come up with some creative gadget recycling solutions. We've rounded up eight ways you can recycle your old phone, from using it as an external hard drive to donating it to a worthy charity.

So what do you think: Will you give your old smartphone a second life, even though you've upgraded on to the newer model?

1. Donate Your Phone to the Troops

Non-profit Phones for Soldiers works to provide U.S. troops with a cost-free way to call home from their active stations. Through recycling partner Mindful eCycling, old mobile phones are traded in for calling cards and other communications devices.

Screenshot courtesy of Phones for Soldiers

2. Sell It on Glyde

Looking for a one-stop shop for selling back all the old tech in your home? Glyde lets you buy and sell a variety of devices, plus it compares the amounts you can fetch on its site with offers from Amazon, Apple and Gazelle.

Screenshot courtesy of Glyde

3. Put It on an Appstand

This picture frame for your iPhone 3 or 3GS turns your old iPhone into a lovely piece of home decor. Available on sale for $8.73, the Appstand lets you breathe new life into your outdated Apple smartphone.

Screenshot courtesy of Koyono/Appstand

4. Sell It Back to Apple

Apple will trade your old iPhone for an Apple gift card through its Reuse and Recycling program. Amounts vary depending on your phone's make and model.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Gene Hunt

5. Donate to Survivors of Domestic Violence

Verizon has collected more than 10 million phones since 2001 for victims of domestic abuse: one in four U.S. women, one in seven men and nearly 3 million children. To donate your old phone, drop it at a Verizon store, ship it or donate to a HopeLine phone drive.

Screenshot courtesy of Verizon HomeLine

6. Search Your Options With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. EPA provides dozens of resources for recycling your old smartphone with its mobile, PC and television search engine. Depending on your device and make, the EPA surfaces optimal recycling options.

Image courtesy of Flickr, georgehotelling

7. Donate to the One Fund for Boston, via Gazelle

Boston-based Gazelle, known for its smartphone buy-back programs, is accepting donated items for the One Fund for Boston. If you select the Boston Marathon victims' relief fund as your preferred payment type, 100% of proceeds from your donation will go toward those most-affected by the marathon tragedy.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Nick Ledford

8. Send Your Phone to CTIA for Refurbishing

If your smartphone is still in good shape, the CTIA will clean, test and update it, then return it to certain retailers who will resell the device. Alternately, if your device doesn't need the complete refurbish, CTIA will clean it and put it up for resell. Phones unable to be refurbished or reused still get recycled for their reusable materials.

Image courtesy of Flickr, epSos.de