Get paid to recycle your old mobile phone

If you recently bought a fancy phone with your extravagant bonus/unemployment check and are looking to get rid of your museum-ready phone, there’s a way to make some money while doing the earth a favor. Exchange My Phone, a new Brooklyn-based recycling service, promises up to $50 for mobile phones less than 2 years old and $200 for recently released smart phones. You type in the model and condition of the phone, get a quote and they send you a box for shipment. Even if it’s a clunker, the company will recycle it for free. As a bonus, they donate a book to a local literacy initiative for each phone.Once it has your phone, Exchange My Phone works to keep it in circulation by finding a new home for it or recycling it so it stays out of landfill. All phones are wiped of data first.

But there are a number of other options for getting rid of your phone if you’re picky about charities or are short on time. Wireless Fundraiser, a charity aggregator, lists over 400 organizations around the country where you can send your phone. One particularly worthy group, The 911 Cell Phone Bank, accepts donations to use as emergency cell phones for victims of crimes, crime witnesses and senior citizens.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on these sites, the Department of Environmental Conservation has a comprehensive list of organizations to choose from. If you’re short on time, a new law lets you also drop your phone at BestBuy, Radioshack or any other electronics retailer for fast and easy removal. Just remember to remove your battery and delete your contacts before sending your phone off into its sunset years.

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