iPhone tops most recycled phone chart
By Barry Collins
Posted on 6 Jul 2010 at 11:32
The iPhone 3G was the most recycled phone in the UK in June, as owners rushed to upgrade to Apple's latest handset.
Old iPhones dominated the recycling charts, with the iPhone 3G (8GB), 3G (16GB) and 3GS (16GB) occupying the top three slots in June, according to recycling comparison site SellMyMobile.com. The company claims almost 20,000 iPhones were recycled via its site alone.
However, the rush to trade-in the old handset has resulted in a sharp drop in the prices fetched for old Apple handsets. Shortly before the iPhone 4 was released, O2 was offering £240 for 16GB 3GS handsets - that price has fallen to £213 today.
SellMyMobile claims there are significant variations in the prices offered by the various recycling sites, with up to £130 difference on iPhone 4 prices - although quite why anyone would want to recycle the new Apple handset yet is a mystery.
The comparison site claims that the average price fetched for recycled phones in June was £77.75.
Top five recycled phones in the UK in June
1. Apple iPhone 3G (8GB)
2. Apple iPhone 3G (16GB)
3. Apple iPhone 3GS (16GB)
4. Nokia 5800 Xpress Music
5. BlackBerry Curve 8900
From around the web
Assumptions
Does the site state why people are recycling their 'phones?
If there is a rush of iPhones just after the new version is out, then yes, it could be an upgrade to the new one.
However, they may be getting a completely different 'phone, such as an HTC or a Blackberry
Recycling iPhone 4s would certainly suggest getting something different
- possibly they want something they can use to make phone calls while holding in their hand?
By greemble on 6 Jul 2010 
Huge assumption
Maybe you could read from this that the iPhone is the phone people just don't want to keep. Maybe they see this as a way to make some return on the monthly fleecing they are paying for having one.
By kingct on 6 Jul 2010
Term of 3G contract
Wasn't the 3G sold on a two-year contract?
So... most of the early adopters are coming to the end of their contracts and so choose to upgrade their phones. Seems fairly unsurprising, really...
By james_whitehead on 8 Jul 2010
Trade-in not recycle
The title should perhaps have read trade-in, not recycle. If we are talking about trade-in, then we want to know numbers, and their accuracy. This item is incomplete without at least some attempt at informal trading volumes to back the formalized channels which I suspect are rarely used by private phone owners.
By zaphodikus on 8 Jul 2010
What happens to them?
What happens to a phone when it is handed in? Does it get recycled, ie are rare metals extracted for re-use, or is it repaired and sent to the 3rd World?
By fogtax on 10 Jul 2010
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