What do Britons do with their old phones? Half of them keep it

We surveyed 3,119 mobile owners in the UK through YouGov Custom Research to understand what they do with their old phones. Here's what we found.

The most common action is keeping old phones, with 52% of Britons saying they still have their old handsets. Two in five (42%) have given their phones to someone they know. A quarter (24%) trade in their phones for money off a new device, while one in five (20%) sell them to others.

Recycling is also a popular option. About 19% of Britons sold their phones to a retailer or service for recycling. One in 10 (10%) recycled their phones through other means, and 8% sold them to a mobile network for recycling. Some 13% donated their phones to charity, while 10% simply discarded them.

For those who keep their old phones, the reasons vary. This question focused on the last handset used before their current one. The most common reason is to keep it as a backup phone (43%). A quarter (26%) are worried about security and don't want others to access their data. Another 25% either don't know what to do with their old phones or never get around to getting rid of them. One in five Britons (19%) don't know how to wipe their data, while another 16% find it too much hassle to dispose of the phone.

We also asked British mobile owners if they knew about device recycling schemes offered by mobile networks. Three in five (57%) were aware of these schemes, but a third (33%) were not.

Among those who knew about recycling schemes but never used them, the main reason was that they are not worth it for the amount of money offered (31%). Others prefer to give their old devices to someone else (21%) or trade them in or recycle them in other ways (15%).

Some 14% don't want to get rid of their old devices or find that their devices are usually broken or heavily damaged. Lack of knowledge about these schemes (13%), finding it too much of a hassle (12%), or simply not being interested in recycling (8%) were also mentioned.

Methodology: YouGov Custom Research provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 29 April – 4 May 2024, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education and social grade to be representative of all adults in the UK (18 years or older) incl. screenouts and reflect ONS population estimates.'