Thinking of getting the latest model of your smartphone? Think again. It might be economically better for you to get your current one repaired, and you’re also helping the environment!

The biggest smartphone manufacturers of today know exactly what we want — new stuff! They produce new smartphone models time and time again and entice us with modern features. Some we really need and make our lives better, and some we don’t even need. The point is, we’re all hooked with every quirky never before seen feature in every new release. I can’t blame you, though. It’s a good thing to have an interface like Siri when you can’t touch your phone while driving or doing something else that keeps your hands occupied.

The downside to all the good stuff, however, is that with every new phone that comes out, there are millions of units that go to waste! Imagine all that metal going nowhere! While they can be recycled and turned into something else, like medals for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games! That’s right, they gathered used electronics from all over the world to recycle them and turn them into bronze, silver, and gold medals!

While that amazing initiative by the people behind it surely sent out a good message to smartphone manufacturers and users all over the globe, it’s still not enough to account for all the electronic waste from used, old, and broken smartphones from consumers and manufacturers alike.

What can you do as a consumer?

You might think that as a consumer with at least one smartphone you replace in a year or two (sometimes even less), your smartphone habits aren’t affecting the environment too much. But if you count yourself along with 7.5 billion other phone users from every corner of the world and you’re looking at a highly significant amount of electronic waste.

You’re probably thinking — what can you do to help lessen the impact of your digital consumerism? It’s difficult to measure the impact of your actions if you don’t know the effects of replacing smartphones and other gadgets instead of trying to keep them longer by getting repairs. I’ll tell you all about it a few sections after this.

So, what can you REALLY do? To repair technicians and stores, your phones are valued as income sources. If you can’t just do with the smartphones you have right now, you can reach out to tech stores that do buy and sell for used phones! To be honest, you won’t have trouble finding one near you.

Another good idea is to, well, take care of your smartphone. I know it’s not easy especially if you’re a heavy user, allow children to use your phone, or stay in environments that don’t help the condition of your cell phone. But in every little way you can, I suggest you take every possible measure to care for your phone and help it serve you longer. You don’t only save money on getting a new unit, but you’re also doing our planet a favor!

Why should you get repairs if you can just buy a new one?

The answer is simple: every smartphone problem you might encounter has been encountered by other consumers, and repair technicians already know how to deal with them. 

If your phone falls into the toilet and didn’t turn on after the gross retrieval effort you made, you’re probably thinking it’s gone forever and you’re now thinking of getting a new smartphone. Which is both exciting and scary for you. Exciting because who isn’t pumped by shiny new gadgets you get fresh out of the box? But scary because smartphones don’t come cheap, especially if you want quality ones.

All in all, repairs are just so much cheaper and more beneficial to the environment, which is the case I’m bringing up here. If you really want to help the planet in your own little human way, succumbing to the flashy and feature-packed smartphones of today isn’t exactly a good way to go about it.

There are millions of cell phone repair shops out there with technicians skilled and experienced enough to fix even the most broken smartphones they encounter, and they’re all a few taps away. Some even offer to come to you to fix your phone on the spot!

There’s another way

If you just can’t do away with your current smartphone a minute longer OR really want to get the latest release of your favorite smartphone manufacturer, there’s nothing I or the environmental organizations out there can do.

As a way to ensure that your phone doesn’t go to the compost pits right away, which is by the way a terrible way to get rid of your old phone, you can sell your phone to people you know or repair stores that offer buy and sell. If it’s a really old phone that you used for years and looks just like that, you won’t get enough money to snag yourself a shiny new phone. But if it’s a relatively new and taken care of kind of unit, you’ll get a pretty good amount of money for it if you talk to the right people. Let’s be honest here, some buyers are really cheap.

That’s why doing your research on the most reputable stores to transact with is a good measure to ensure that you get your old phone’s worth. Instead of tossing your unwanted phone into the garbage can (and harming the environment), why not try and get some dollars out of it?

Final thoughts

If you’re still torn between getting your phone repaired or just tossing it for a new one, I’d like to remind you that your phone’s components are and will always be useful to other people. Once you’ve decided to get rid of your current phone and not get it repaired to work better, it’d be best to contact a cell phone repair shop offering buy, sell, and trade services for smartphones. Remember that as a consumer, it’s your responsibility to properly dispose of any product you paid for and used.