Only one in 10 Brits recycles old mobiles

Just one in 10 people in the UK recycle their old mobile phones.

Past-it handsets are not necessarily ending up in the wheelie bin - they are more likely to be languishing in the nation's attics or gathering dust in old shoe boxes under the bed, according to a survey.

Mobile users have owned around five phones on average. And while only nine per cent of Brits recycle these old phones, it's not all bad news as just three per cent of dud devices end up in landfill. The majority (48 per cent) are kept at home, unwanted and never used. But a fair bit of reusing goes on too: almost a fifth (19 per cent) of devices are passed on to friends or family, and eight per cent are resold.

When it comes to recycling, the UK does well in the global picture - with more UK respondents claiming to recycle their mobiles than any other country. However, just three per cent of the 6,500 people surveyed said they recycle their unwanted devices, and close to half weren't even aware a mobile phone could be recycled.

The Nokia-commissioned survey also found nearly a fifth of Brits are unaware recycling old mobiles is possible, while nearly half do not know how to go about recycling their old handset.

Yet a simple Google search reveals a plethora of options for recycling old mobiles - including websites offering cash back and environmental charities that will take your old phones. Nokia will also take in any mobile phone at the Nokia store on Regent Street in London.

Markus Terho, director of environmental affairs, markets at Nokia, said in a statement: "If all of the three billion people that own mobile phones globally brought back just one unused device we could save 240,000 tonnes of raw materials and reduce greenhouse gases to the same effect as taking four million cars off the road."

The survey is based on responses from people in 13 countries: Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, Russia, Sweden, UK, United Arab Emirates and USA.