Interest in Mobile Phone Recycling Surges in the UK

Internet usage tracking firm, Hitwise says that UK Internet searches related to the recycling of mobile phones have almost trebled over the last 12 months. UK Internet searches for a portfolio of mobile phone recycling search terms - such as 'recycle mobile phones', 'mobile phone recycling' and 'phone recycling' - increased by 189% between the week ending 17/05/2008 and the week ending 16/05/2009.

The surge in demand for mobile phone recycling has led to the emergence of websites that specialize in providing the service. Websites such as Envirofone, Mazuma Mobile and Fonebank - currently the three most popular mobile phone recycling sites in the UK – offer their customers up to £200 to recycle the latest high-end models such as the Apple iPhone and Nokia 5800 X-Press Music. UK Internet visits to mobile phone recycling websites have grown in line with searches for their services, and increased by 205% between April 2008 and April 2009.

Mobile phone recycling motivated by money as much as environmental concern

According to Robin Goad, Director of Research at Hitwise, the increase in searches for mobile phone recycling services is as much driven by financial as environmental concerns: "The growth in mobile phone recycling searches has gone hand-in-hand with an increase in online queries relating to the financial benefits of recycling old mobiles. UK Internet searches for terms such as 'recycle mobile phones for cash' and 'recycling for cash' have quadrupled over the last 12 months. Given the sums on offer, it is perhaps no surprise that cash-strapped Britons are choosing to make some extra money during the recession by selling their unused mobile phones."

Further proof that money concerns is as much a driver of this trend as environmental concerns in the current environment is evident in the decrease in searches for other types of recycling. UK Internet searches for the recycling of other items - including computers, electronics (excluding mobile phones), CDs, clothes and furniture - have fallen by 50% over the last 12 months.

Commented Goad: "Overall, UK Internet searches for recycling have increased by 70% over the last year, but that growth has been almost entirely due to the increase in searches for mobile phone recycling. Mobile phone related searches now account for 75% of all search queries relating to the recycling of specific items or materials, up from 45% a year ago."

On the web: Hitwise - Envirofone - Mazuma Mobile - Fonebank

Posted to the site on 25th May 2009