How to Prepare a Cell Phone for Recycling

Cell phone recycling is a great way to dispose of those old cell phones you may have laying around the house. Many people have concerns about how to prepare their old phone to be recycled, especially since phones store so much personal information in their memory. With a few simple steps, you can easily prepare you phone for recycling and protect your privacy.

Instructions

1. Cancel the service on your phone with your cellular provider. Only phones that have been deactivated with their wireless carriers are eligible for recycling, so it's important to complete this first step. This also ensures that if your phone is refurbished and put back into use, you won't be charged.

2. Clear out any personal information such as contacts or other stored memory on your phone. Delete all contacts from the address book, text messages and memos you may have stored in your phone.

3. Remove the SIM card, if the phone is equipped with one. If you don't know if your phone has a SIM card or don't know how to remove it, simply take your phone to a local wireless store and have a staff member assist you. Removing the SIM card will further ensure that none of the phone's previous information will be passed on to a future user.

4. Rest assured that cell phone recycling companies are required to make sure that all data has been removed from a phone before recycling.