I’m pretty proud that I managed to keep my iPhone 8 going for over five years (with one battery replacement in that time). But recently it’s been increasingly unreliable, switching itself off at random times, and spontaneously draining the battery after doing anything remotely taxing. This combined with the fact that software updates are no longer available for this model led me to the conclusion that buying a new phone was probably a good idea at this point.
Choosing a new phone
I’m not a person who needs the latest and greatest tech. It just needs to function, and let me complete the tasks I need to quickly and easily. Low friction is what I need.
But I also want my hardware choices to be as sustainable as possible. Lots of people who care about sustainability speak highly of the Fairphone, which is made with a high percentage of recycled materials and is designed to be repairable. The drawback is it’s Android-only. Right now I don’t really want to leave the Apple ecosystem, as everything syncs nicely across my phone, laptop, watch and iPad.
That left me with the option of buying a refurbished iPhone. This is actually a great option. By buying secondhand you’re helping give an old device a second lease of life, preventing hazardous materials going to landfill and polluting the environment. According to the Carbon Trust:
The most carbon intensive stage in a smartphone’s lifecycle is production and manufacturing (around 80% of its total footprint)...based on today’s production processes, adding just one year onto the lifetime of all smartphones in the world could save the same volume of carbon emissions by 2030 as taking 4.7 million cars off the road.
You can also save a lot of money, especially if you don’t mind an older model. I opted for the iPhone SE, billed as “good condition”, with a listing price of £125, and paid an additional £25 for a brand new battery upgrade. To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded paying slightly more for a more recent model, but I didn’t really want a phone that’s bigger than the one I already have! (Manufacturers, take note: not everyone has gigantic man-hands.)
The phone I received works great, and looks like new. So far I’m really happy with my purchase.
Recycling your old phone
Rather than leaving your old devices languishing in a drawer, it’s also pretty easy to get them valued and recycled. Many sites that sell refurbished phones will also buy back your old devices, or offer a part-exchange. Some high street stores also offer this service.
There are also comparison sites, like Compare and Recycle (for UK consumers) that show you the best buy-back price for your old phone. I was surprised that my old iPhone 8 was valued at £50, and the company sent me a free, prepaid postage box to mail my old device.
Even if you think your device is totally useless, it still contains rare and precious materials that can be re-used for manufacture and repair of new devices. If you can’t find a buyer for your old device you can take it to a household recycling centre for electronic goods. (Make sure you wipe your data first.) Some councils here in the UK even offer curb-side collection.
You might not need a new phone
The tech industry would have us believe that we need to be upgrading our devices every year. But really, what do any of the new models offer us, besides a slightly better camera? Now companies are falling over themselves to convince us that we need “AI-enabled” everything. But will any of it make us happier or more productive? (Gosh, I hate that word.) Or does it just provide another way to get us to buy more, while conveniently harvesting even more of our data? I know that having a brand new fancy phone every year will make not one ounce of difference to my happiness.
Takeaways
When it comes to making sustainable hardware choices remember:
- Holding onto your devices for as long as possible and maximising their useful life keeps e-waste out of landfill, and reduces embodied emissions and the raw materials needed to manufacture new devices.
- Secondhand can be just as good as new, and usually cheaper.
- If you really want to buy new, look for more sustainable, like the Fairphone.
- Sell, give away or recycle your old devices so they can be used by someone (or something) else.