Donating your old mobile phone

Lately, more and more of us moms rely on our smart phones for everything from email to grocery lists to apps that amuse our kids — far beyond just the traditional phone calls and texts. I, for one, celebrate the way my smart phone has streamlined my life and lightened my purse. I remember back in the college and early-career days when I had to carry a day planner, a phone, an address book, an iPod, and my grocery list on a slip of paper. No more! Now it’s all on my iPhone, and as a bonus I have access to the internet and my email anywhere.

But when the time comes to switch from an older model phone to a smart phone, or even from an older smart phone to a new one, what do we do with the old phone? I’m here to tell you that lately it’s become easier and easier to find that old phone a second life or turn them into donations to a worthy cause.

Dallas County Hazardous Waste Recycling – It sounds like a chemical dump, but in fact it’s a drop-off location for a lot of those things that you weren’t sure how to get rid of like electronics, spray paint cans, batteries, lawn and garden chemicals, and more. Find a list of items here.

911 Cell Phone Bank – Donates used phones to meet the unexpected and urgent needs of participating law enforcement and affiliated victims services agencies. Register online and they’ll send you a prepaid envelope so you can mail the phone to them.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence – Probably one of the most well-known uses for an old phone is through this organization which originally began by providing phones to women in danger of domestic violence who needed a way to call 911 if threatened. Now they use the proceeds of recycling old phone materials to continue preventing domestic violence. This organization also provides a free shipping label so that you can mail the phone.

The Dallas Zoo – The next time you come to the zoo, bring all your old cell phones with you. You can drop them off at collection boxes located in the Zoofari gift shop, the Gorilla Research Station or the Discovery House in the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo. For each recycled phone the Dallas Zoo receives a payment which is deposited in the Dallas Zoo’s conservation fund.

Wycliff Bible Translators – If supporting translation of the Bible into other languages is your passion, you can help this organization by donating your phone to them for use in the mission field. They will also send you a FedEx envelope for your donation.

Your local Super Target – Have you noticed the 3 bins located near the snack area and/or restroom area at the front of your Super Target? One bin is for recycling CFL bulbs, one is for cans/bottles, and one is for used cell phones and MP3 players!

There are so many other worthy organizations and causes that now recycle old phones for donations that I couldn’t list them all here. I’d encourage you to check with your favorite non-profit or community organizations to see if your old phone donation might benefit them.

Just in time for the iPhone 5, rumored to be coming out this fall!

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