What to do With Old Cell Phones

How recycling your old cell phone can make a positive impact on the environment and your community 

Did you know that only about 25% of electronic waste is collected for recycling in the United States? In addition to the impact that the hazardous materials in electronic devices such as cell phones have on the environment, failure to recycle electronics sends valuable raw materials to landfills instead of allowing them to be reused in new products.  

Recycling your old cell phone with Goodwill is easy, secure and helps fund job training and placement programs in your community.

What does Goodwill do with donated cell phones? 

Goodwill accepts working and broken cell phones as donations. Cell phones are checked to be sure they are in good condition and all personally identifiable information is removed from the phone. Working cell phones are then sold on GoodwillFinds. Funds raised from the sale of your donated phone helps to fund job training and placement programs across the greater Milwaukee & Chicago areas. 

Broken cell phones are recycled. At Goodwill, we believe in environmental sustainability and reducing electronic waste. In 2023 alone, donations to Goodwill kept more than 150 million pounds of clothing and household items, including cell phones and other electronic devices, out of landfills in Greater Milwaukee and Chicago. 

Does Goodwill take electronics in addition to cell phones?

Goodwill accepts all types of electronic items as donations including smartwatches, kindles and other e-readers, laptop and desktop computers and gaming consoles. Similar to cell phone donations, the electronics experts at Goodwill test all devices to ensure they are in good working order. If an item can’t be sold, we recycle the plastic, metal and other materials. 

How to donate your electronics items to Goodwill

We encourage donors to clean the memory and remove all information from electronics items before donating. Don’t forget about the information in your e-readers and gaming consoles! If you can make a purchase directly though the device, the device is storing your personal information. 

To be sure your identity and information is protected, we take the time to erase any information you might have left behind. When all personally identifiable information is removed from working items, these items are sold on GoodwillFinds.

See how to donate electronic devices to Goodwill

Donate with or without the cord 

If you can’t find the charging cord for your old cell phone or other electronics device, that’s ok. We often get donations of cell phones or other electronics without charging cords and charging cords without the item they’re intended to charge.  Goodwill sells miscellaneous charging cords in our stores. Nonworking cords are recycled. 

You can donate your old cell phone, computer, smartwatch or gaming console to Goodwill with confidence, knowing your identity and personal information are protected. You are making a difference in the life of someone else in your community and reducing electronic waste by recycling or giving someone else the opportunity to make use of a device you no longer want.