Any use for unwanted landline phones?

Bogof_Babe

We've replaced our domestic phones (answerphone base unit with two cordless handsets) as they had started not to hold their battery charge for more than a few minutes when in use on long calls. Don't really want to donate to a charity shop because they are not in vgc, although someone could probably get a bit of use out of them if they are not heavy users.

So, are these recycleable in any way? Seems a shame to add them to the landfill problem.

EricMears

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

We've replaced our domestic phones (answerphone base unit with two cordless handsets) as they had started not to hold their battery charge for more than a few minutes when in use on long calls.

Can you not fit new batteries ?

Even now, chances are an old handset with new batteries can be re-programmed to work with new base station.

WestonDave

You might struggle - I sold 4 boxes of old office phones on ebay for a fiver a couple of years back - buyer was going to have them dismantled for recycling and component salvage. On the basis that there was probably 50+ in that bundle, 2 probably isn't worth the postage!

Bogof_Babe

Never thought of that . Have bought new ones now anyway, which are a bit more jazzy than the old kit.

thenudeone

try freecycle or freegle

Bogof_Babe

WestonDave wrote: »

You might struggle - I sold 4 boxes of old office phones on ebay for a fiver a couple of years back - buyer was going to have them dismantled for recycling and component salvage. On the basis that there was probably 50+ in that bundle, 2 probably isn't worth the postage!

Sorry I didn't thank you yesterday, or comment. We were typing at the same time and I completely missed seeing your post until just now! Looks like landfill it is then.

Oliver14

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

We've replaced our domestic phones (answerphone base unit with two cordless handsets) as they had started not to hold their battery charge for more than a few minutes when in use on long calls. Don't really want to donate to a charity shop because they are not in vgc, although someone could probably get a bit of use out of them if they are not heavy users.

So, are these recycleable in any way? Seems a shame to add them to the landfill problem.

It's worth have a corded phone (non mains powered) connected to your telephone line. We recently had a power cut and also were unable to get mobile signals so a corded phone (as they take power from the phone line) made life a lot easier. Our power was off for 6 hours so at least we were able to phone and check this and other things.

Ben84

Old phones are not worth a lot and options to do anything other than throw it out are limited if you're not going to replace the battery pack and continue using it yourself. I suppose you could offer it on freecycle as a phone needing a new battery pack, someone may repair it and use it. However, I think there's an important point here, if you really want better use to be made from things, you need to make better use of the things you have yourself. The idea we can just recycle them somehow to wipe out the problems of excess consumption, or that we can consume more things we don't need just as long as we give the prematurely discarded items to someone else to do something with doesn't add up. Overconsumption of things doesn't fit in with the eco friendly picture this is trying to be, and these ideas and solutions to waste are very popular, but we can't all be the odd one out who doesn't reconsider our habits while everyone else around us comes up with creative ways to make our wasteful ways somehow green.

Bogof_Babe

Oliver14 wrote: »

It's worth have a corded phone (non mains powered) connected to your telephone line. We recently had a power cut and also were unable to get mobile signals so a corded phone (as they take power from the phone line) made life a lot easier. Our power was off for 6 hours so at least we were able to phone and check this and other things.

Agree. The one in the bedroom is plugged into the extension socket and yes it did come in very handy when I had to phone the electricity board about a power cut!

Ben84 wrote: »

Old phones are not worth a lot and options to do anything other than throw it out are limited if you're not going to replace the battery pack and continue using it yourself. I suppose you could offer it on freecycle as a phone needing a new battery pack, someone may repair it and use it. However, I think there's an important point here, if you really want better use to be made from things, you need to make better use of the things you have yourself. The idea we can just recycle them somehow to wipe out the problems of excess consumption, or that we can consume more things we don't need just as long as we give the prematurely discarded items to someone else to do something with doesn't add up. Overconsumption of things doesn't fit in with the eco friendly picture this is trying to be, and these ideas and solutions to waste are very popular, but we can't all be the odd one out who doesn't reconsider our habits while everyone else around us comes up with creative ways to make our wasteful ways somehow green.

I would have liked the phones to last longer than the four years they did, but as they became impractical (I didn't even know it was possible to replace the batteries) I didn't seem to have much alternative than to replace them. Just hope the new ones give us a few more years of service.

Ben84

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

I would have liked the phones to last longer than the four years they did, but as they became impractical (I didn't even know it was possible to replace the batteries) I didn't seem to have much alternative than to replace them. Just hope the new ones give us a few more years of service.

Re-reading it now I think my earlier post sounds more critical than I wanted it to. I realise that repairing items isn't as popular as it used to be and the manufacturers do not encourage it, either through providing information or through the design of the items. Ideally, your phone should have had easily user accessible batteries and an explanation of how and when to change them in the manual, but manufacturers are not very progressive on these things. In fact on this type of thing, many items have regressed over the years with increasingly sealed parts. A good example is just how many things get thrown away because the permanently attached cable has broken (laptop chargers being an expensive one), yet a user replaceable cable with a plug would be quite possible to add for a small cost per item. Because of this the electronics industry generates a lot more waste than it needs to through the designs and information it provides people with. There are solutions, but how to encourage them to be used is the big problem? The ideas being promoted at the moment by allegedly forward thinking companies are often recycling schemes, but the customers losing their whole item and the environmental costs from disposal and replacement of the whole thing make these poor solutions compared to better made items with parts that can be changed easily.

Bogof_Babe

Ben84 wrote: »

Re-reading it now I think my earlier post sounds more critical than I wanted it to. I realise that repairing items isn't as popular as it used to be and the manufacturers do not encourage it, either through providing information or through the design of the items. Ideally, your phone should have had easily user accessible batteries and an explanation of how and when to change them in the manual, but manufacturers are not very progressive on these things. In fact on this type of thing, many items have regressed over the years with increasingly sealed parts. A good example is just how many things get thrown away because the permanently attached cable has broken (laptop chargers being an expensive one), yet a user replaceable cable with a plug would be quite possible to add for a small cost per item. Because of this the electronics industry generates a lot more waste than it needs to through the designs and information it provides people with. There are solutions, but how to encourage them to be used is the big problem? The ideas being promoted at the moment by allegedly forward thinking companies are often recycling schemes, but the customers losing their whole item and the environmental costs from disposal and replacement of the whole thing make these poor solutions compared to better made items with parts that can be changed easily.

I can tell you feel strongly about this Ben, and rightly so. Perhaps we should start a campaign to reduce the worst of the throwaway society we live in nowadays. While we're at it we could tackle the problem of over-packaging too, which is beyond barmy in the case of some smaller electric/electronic appliances. I bought OH a new shaver and it was almost impossible to get it out of the toughened plastic shell it came in. Even the kitchen scissors weren't up to the job.

Maybe we should all lobby the Green party, as a starting point!