Recellular
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ReCellular's headquarters toured by iFixit, recycling and redistribution gets a closer look
ReCellular's hardly a new name in the recycling universe, but as more and more individuals toss their dumbphone for a smarter alternative, the Ann Arbor-based outfit is seeing a new wave of interest. iFixit, a company that thrives on tearing down gadgetry both new and old in order to inform people of their repair and upgrade options, recently had the opportunity to tour ReCellular's monolithic warehouse, where some 10,000 used phones are processed every 24 hours. The tour also included a bit of back-and-forth with the founder, who isn't against the seemingly endless churn of devices. In fact, he quips that "we have the right to get a phone that's smaller and a prettier color if we want," insinuating that ReCellular simply exists to provide a better home to older gizmos than in some landfill. Perhaps surprisingly, Chuck Newman even confesses that the whole "environmental message" isn't very effective, which is why it distributes prepaid envelopes to encourage recycling that would probably not happen otherwise. Eager to read more? Give those links below a tap.
ReCellular will recycle your phone and donate all proceeds to Haiti disaster relief
It might've been hard to watch pictures of the latest natural disaster striking the island of Haiti recently, but lending a hand in the relief effort shouldn't be. If you've got an older cellphone -- functioning or otherwise -- batteries, chargers, or other accessories, ReCellular wants to hear from you. The cellphone recycling company has launched a Phones for Haiti program, whereby you can donate your unwanted handsets and rest assured that 100 percent of the revenue raised from them will go to helping Haiti survivors rebuild. Partnering with the American Red Cross, ReCellular will even pay for the shipping of your castoff electronics, so really, how much easier do you want it?
List of most-recycled phones has two RAZRs at the top, possibly being melted right into CLIQ molds
Remember back when RAZRs were the most amazing thing you'd ever seen and they ran like $400 on a two-year contract? Yeah, it feels like an eternity and a half ago -- and most owners seem to feel that way, too, because they're being recycled en masse these days. Phone recycling specialist ReCellular has released its list of the ten most-recycled handsets of the year, and by 2009 standards, there really aren't any surprises -- the chart reads like a directory of forgettable has-been dumbphones with the possible exception, of course, of the industry-changing RAZRs up top. It'll be interesting to see if or when the first smartphones break the top ten -- what do you think, a Treo or two?
Like lambs to the slaughterhouse: Nokia 6010, Motorola RAZR nab most-recycled titles
While it's cool that owners of the venerable Nokia 6010 and Motorola RAZR are forward-thinking enough to be recycling their unwanted, ancient handsets en masse, we've actually got a question for Nokia and Moto here: is this a title you're proud of? Seems like a double-edged sword since your models are getting tossed by the thousands, but hey, at least they're being tossed in an ethical way. Phone recycling firm ReCellular reports that the 6010 and the V3 (along with LG's VX4500) are the most commonly-recycled handsets of the moment -- pretty amazing when you think that the original RAZR was $500 on contract when it first launched, and now it's getting scrapped for traces of precious metal. How the mighty have fallen, eh?
Virgin Mobile starts recycling program
Not unlike Apple and Dell, Virgin Mobile USA is getting into the recycling business -- sort of. Their new program, announced yesterday, provides buyers of Virgin's prepaid phones with a prepaid envelope inside the box to return an old phone in. As part of its new partnership with ReCellular, your unwanted handsets, like the vintage Kyocera K9 or classic Motorola StarTAC, will be refurbished and then sold or donated. And so you won't feel so bad at the thought of someone else using last year's model, all the sale proceeds will go to helping homeless youth, which we're hoping will restore your faith a bit in phone donation programs. It should be noted though, Virgin isn't the only carrier being a good samaritan with what might be otherwise discarded devices -- Verizon and T-Mobile have also been spotted distributing mailers with new purchases.
