Cell Phone Recycler Lists Most Commonly Recycled Models

Cell phone recycler ReCellular, which is expected to collect six million phones in 2008 for reuse or recycling, has released the top 10 most recycled cell phones during 2008.

The most commonly collected phone by ReCellular is the Nokia 6010, which was released in 2004. There are also four Motorola and four LG models on the list, with Samsung representing the last model in the top 10. All phones had release dates of 2004 or later, with the newest models released as late as 2006.

Based on the these trends, ReCellular expects the popular models of today (think: Apple’s iPhone and BlackBerry’s Curve) to appear on the list of top recycled models in 2009 or 2010.

“The average American replaces their cell phone every 18 months, which is a great challenge and opportunity,” said Chuck Newman, CEO of ReCellular. “The challenge is there are over 130 million phones retired every year, potentially creating 65,000 tons of dangerous electronics waste.”

Eligible for reconditioning and reuse, 80 percent of the phones collected on this list have the potential to be utilized “to meet the global demand for affordable, functional handsets.” The top ten are:

  1. Nokia 6010 2004
  2. Motorola RAZR V3 2004
  3. LG VX4500 2004
  4. Motorola RAZR V3M 2006
  5. Motorola C139 2006
  6. LG VX3200 2004
  7. Samsung A670 2004
  8. Motorola V551 2004
  9. LG VX5200 2005
  10. LG VX3300 2005

ReCellular is currently a part of the 2008 Cell Phone Round-up, where you can print a postage-paid shipping label to safely and conveniently recycle your cell phone.

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2 Archived Comments

  1. ALFREDA

    posted on November 20th, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    Some place recycle the phones and not the attachments such as the chargers plugs, auto chargers, phone cases, or ear plugs.

    Can you suggest how to recycle those items?

  2. Valerie

    posted on December 30th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    Your local trash company may have a program to recycle the other parts. Some cities also have HHW events and will take these items free of charge. Conact your city and they will have the appropriate information for your area.

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