I hate the fact that we toss so much perfectly good stuff into landfills. I also hate wasting money on something that I know will one day be tossed into a land fill instead of being recyled. I am looking into getting a prepaid cell phone within the next few days - week. Some of these cell phone service providers are starting to allow folks to use existing cell phones for this service, the only catch is it has to be a phone that was originally used with that company, ATT, Sprint, Verizon, etc. The companies simply reprogram the phone and assign it a new phone number, new owner, etc. A new life, if you will.
So, before I waste money and a tiny bit of our environment by purchasing a new phone to use with my prepaid service, I thought I’d check and see if anyone here has recently upgraded to a better phone, or switched cell providers, and perhaps still has the “old” phone sitting in a drawer or waiting to be tossed into the garbage.
My preference would be for a phone that had been used with AT&T service, because I know they will allow the use of these “recycled” phones, as long as they are not too old (probably l-2 years old). However, I will be checking to see which other service providers allows service with recycled phones.
Don’t have a phone for ya, Loren, but I just wanted to share with everyone something that maybe y’all already know but in case you don’t -
If you’re looking for something to do with that old cell phone, you can check with your local domestic violence shelter/support group/organization. Donated old cell phones are programmed to just dial 911, at no charge, and are given to women who are trying to escape a domestic violence situation (when the danger of bodily harm/murder is highest). Then the women can call for help if needed.
Sure beats throwing the thing in a landfill or giving it to your toddler to play with (which I have seen more than once).
These organizations will take all sorts of things for this excellent cause. One thing they can use is those little soap and shampoo samples that everyone takes home from hotels. Most of us don’t really need them, but the shelters give them out to women and children who come to them with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Our Synagogue has a collection box for these ( phones too) in the lobby and brings them to a shelter from time to time.
It is a good use for old cell phones. They actually don’t do anything with the phones. Any (U.S.) cell phone can always call 911 (in the US, at least), the carriers are required to carry that call even if there is no service contract.
So even if you’ve dumped the service, you can keep the phone (or donate it) for emergency calls.
i keep one of the old phones in my truck in case of a road emergancy. i have a cig. lighter connection instead of the battery which was long ago worn out. no service, but 911 works on it.
loren, i think the batterries are the reason most people get rid of their old phones, as they often cost almost as much as the phone itself. kind of engineered obsolesence. landfills are probably full of them
good luck, tansy
Good point Tansy, and I’m finding that out - about the batteries being shot.
Seems like going with a new phone isn’t much worse (environmentally) than getting a used phone and then purchasing a new battery that will eventually have to be dealt with (disposed of).
As it happens, I’ve got a Nokia 6162 that was an ATT phone. It’s been waiting for me to take it to the shop as a recycle, but it’s yours if you want it. I’ve got the charger and batteries, but I won’t make any claims on the quality of the batteries. It also had the antenna removed by one of my hounds, but strangely enough, it never seemed to affect the signal strength. (I used it that way for a year.)
I want to add, please consider your local women’s shelter when your children outgrow clothes, toys, etc. Women often arrive at the shelters with very young children, and things like playpens, high chairs, swings, doorway bouncers, strollers, etc. are very much needed.
Old but still functional furniture is another thing we often don’t think of donating, but there are charities in most cities that help “transitional homeless” families get on their feet, and they are often thrilled to get that old sofa or bed or dining table…that piece you’d be lucky to get $10 for at a yard sale can be the foundation for furnishing a new apartment for a family who’s lost everything. Often the charity will even send someone out to pick it up!
I didn’t know that about the cell phones (wish I had, as I replaced my old Nokia a year ago Christmas), but I’ll definitely remember it for the future.
If you need another incentive to make charitable donations to women’s shelter or similar organizations, they will give you a tax receipt listing the items donated and their approximate value. Deductions of material goods to bona fide charitable organizations are tax deductible, and you’d be surprised how this stuff adds up if you really clean up your closet, basement, etc. When I got married, we merged two households and donated all of the duplicate toasters, pots, furniture, etc worth thousands of dollars. Plus, my wife hated a lot of my old clothes…
You get rid of stuff cluttering up your life, needy people get them, and you get a tax break. It’s a no-brainer!
I agree with you 100% that it’s a great thing to do with your unwanted stuff (and it’s tax deductible!), but let me add this caveat - please check with the organization you’re donating to before you drop the stuff off. As part of my job I spend time each week at our local homeless shelter. There is plenty of stuff that they are always in need of, but because it is a small shelter where folks can stay up to 90 days, they also get way too much than they’ll ever use of other things (especially clothes). While the shelter will never turn down a donation, many things actually end up being turned around and donated to Good Will because the shelter can’t use them and they are just taking up needed space. A phone call can help direct your items to where they are most needed.
Also, please make sure your donations are clean and in good repair! Donating a filthy, moth-eaten sweater or a broken toaster doesn’t do anybody any good, and it happens all the time.
I tried coming back to the Philly area, but my parents kicked me out! I wasn’t even there long enough before getting the boot to go visit Mike and Jim over at Copeland Woodwinds
Hot dog carts…You know, a friend of my was seriously thinking about doing that - he’s a financial analyst (wanting to quit his job) and said, after doing some research, that the hot dog cart guys who park at Home Depot and the like make great money - like 50K a year. Sheesh, who knew there was so much money in Weiners?
By any chance, do you remember King of Pizza?
And by the way, they’re getting ready to reopen The Old Bookbinders restaurant in a new downtown office building/hotel. Gimme them fried oysters!!!
Reopening the Original Bookbinder’s, huh? Hmph, me with the same last name and I never got a free mean there, the nerve. Wish I had a buck for every time someone asked me if I was Bookbinder of Bookbinder’s Restaurant, back when I lived in Philly. Geeze, I musta been asked that question 5000 times. They should’ve frickin’ adopted me!
I wasn’t even there long enough before getting the boot to go visit Mike and Jim over at Copeland Woodwinds 