Should You Buy a Refurbished Phone?

Do you ever think about where your old phone goes once you upgrade? If you care about the environment you probably discarded your phone in an electronic waste bin or you took it to a recycling facility, which is all you could do.

First of all, there is too much electronic waste (e-waste). And if that waste isn’t disposed of properly it could leak toxins into water and earth. This problem is being addressed in terms of companies like Samsung collecting older models and reusing them. The governments and various coalitions are also emphasising the need for a circular economy where older devices are reused to make new ones.

However, if we wait for governments to pass regulations and for companies to start redesigning their production process, we are going to have much more waste before anything changes. The first step should come from the consumers which lead us to the second problem.

Stop Fast Consumption of Electronics With Refurbished Phones

The second problem is the fast consumption of, primarily, smartphones. Big smartphone brands release a new device every year and millions of people upgrade each year discarding their perfectly working smartphone for a “better” version.

The truth is, their “old” smartphone is probably working just fine, maybe with a few touches it can be as good as new. This is the problem that has to be addressed and the mindset that needs to change. Don’t upgrade for no reason, repair your phone if possible, use it for a few more months or years and then think about buying a new one.

Refurbished phones can easily help with that. Used phones that are almost new but returned or had some minor malfunctions fixed are not only cheaper but also environmentally friendly.

This is where you can act, you can stop the consumer culture that buys a new product each year even thought they don’t really need it, simply by buying a perfectly good just not-as-new smartphone that will serve you just the same.

Its all about realizing that buying what we don’t need produces less waste. If the demand went down, so would supply, and suddenly companies would be creating smartphones meant to last longer and not break or malfunction after a few years of usage. The change starts with the consumer, not the other way around.

Are You Looking for a Refurbished Phone?

We understand that sometimes you really need a new phone, especially when your older smartphone’s operating system is obsolete (looking at you Apple). And there is nothing wrong with that. We are not trying to make you use an unusable phone just because buying a new one is “bad”.