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AIBU?

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Original poster

To have thrown a bunch of smashed up old mobile phones in the bin

460 replies

Pavementworrier · 11/01/2026 18:45

Sims removed but otherwise just as they were

I'd been keeping of them to "destroy securely" but they're driving me insane around the house so enough was enough

Will I get digitally kidnapped now? They were really old and shit phones.

OP posts:
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16
Topseyt123 · 12/01/2026 15:34

Allseeingallknowing · 12/01/2026 15:17

What about old lap tops and iPads etc?

They can go to the dump where they go into a small electricals container and are then broken up for recycling.

Redpeach · 12/01/2026 15:21

Do you flush tampons too?

Allseeingallknowing · 12/01/2026 15:17

What about old lap tops and iPads etc?

SabrinaThwaite · 12/01/2026 15:17

greengreengreengrass · 12/01/2026 13:47

Apologies if this has been asked or answered before as I haven't read all 15 pages.

I am disabled and cannot drive to get to the tip. I can get to the shop on my mobility scooter, si recycle batteries that way. But is there a way to recycle old phones other than going to the tip? Can I post them off somewhere or do supermarkets recycle them?

You can donate mobile phones by post to the British Heart Foundation.

www.bhf.org.uk/shop/donating-goods/post-your-donations

Allseeingallknowing · 12/01/2026 15:04

Same here- wish computer shops had ways of disposing of them- shredders etc. I have several old iPads

Nocameltoeleggingsplease · 12/01/2026 14:49

Pavementworrier · 12/01/2026 09:51

It's absolutely not. I find people with very little actual responsibility in their lives get overwrought about stuff like this.

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Very little actual responsibility so they worry about…. the world??

Manxexile · 12/01/2026 14:37

greengreengreengrass · 12/01/2026 13:47

Apologies if this has been asked or answered before as I haven't read all 15 pages.

I am disabled and cannot drive to get to the tip. I can get to the shop on my mobility scooter, si recycle batteries that way. But is there a way to recycle old phones other than going to the tip? Can I post them off somewhere or do supermarkets recycle them?

Telephone or email your local council (the one responsible for waste disposal) and ask them what you are meant to do. Every council will have different arrangements so no one here can give you an answer.

Manxexile · 12/01/2026 14:31

BrendaSmall · 12/01/2026 10:18

No, none of them do here, we’ve got a small Tesco & coop

Edited
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Have you actually asked them where their battery recycling bin is?

The law says they have to have one

Scarlettpixie · 12/01/2026 13:51

Just going back to the original point of the thread, how do you ensure your data isn't being taken off your old dead tech if you hand it over to someone to recycle? I have 2 PCs and a number of phones, kindles and ipads accumulated over the last 15 years or so and I still have them in a cupboard because of data concerns. If I were to sell or gift a phone, I would restore to factory settings but these have all died in various ways meaning I cannot turn them on and do that.

insomniacalways · 12/01/2026 13:50

Even with the SIM removed, there could still be data on your phone smashed or otherwise. And yes, you recycle litium and other batteries otherwise they cause fires and serious damage to recycling plants and lorries . 700 fires in 2022 so yes a lot of people are like you and don't know or now it seems care.

greengreengreengrass · 12/01/2026 13:47

Apologies if this has been asked or answered before as I haven't read all 15 pages.

I am disabled and cannot drive to get to the tip. I can get to the shop on my mobility scooter, si recycle batteries that way. But is there a way to recycle old phones other than going to the tip? Can I post them off somewhere or do supermarkets recycle them?

Topseyt123 · 12/01/2026 13:35

Pavementworrier · 11/01/2026 19:51

Why would you not? Where would you put it?

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You take them to your local tip (council recycling centre) where there will be a special container for small household appliances.

There you put old toasters, kettles, computers, tablets or any other broken down small household appliance. That's the system at our local tip. They are then taken to a specialist facility which can break them up safely and recycle most of the parts.

Throwing them into landfill is unnecessary, dangerous, environmentally unfriendly and totally irresponsible.

godmum56 · 12/01/2026 13:29

grumpygrape · 12/01/2026 13:10

There are times when I wonder how some people manage to get up and put their clothes on in the morning. Let alone post on forums, drive cars, raise children, feed themselves, but can't or won't recycle the right things in the right places.

yup me too.

HarvestMouseandGoldenCups · 12/01/2026 13:28

Tippexy · 12/01/2026 12:00

Again, I’m doing well if I get to a supermarket and have a) £1 for the trolley and/or b) my shopping bags. 😄

With the greatest will in the world, I just do not have the organisational skills to be one of those people who can have a little battery bucket and take its contents to the supermarket regularly. Especially since my supermarket trips tend to be impromptu, on the way home from somewhere.

I do recycle into all the household bins though so ultimately, ‘good enough’ is going to have to be good enough! 😊

Edited

Then you are not functioning as an adult. Put the box in your car or just collect them in a box and take them once a year… it’s not like people use hundreds of batteries or need to do it monthly.

Topseyt123 · 12/01/2026 13:19

I keep a couple of previous phones as spares in case my current one breaks down but the rest are recycled when someone next goes to the dump, where there is always a container for things like that. They are then taken away, broken up and what can be recycled (most of it) is taken out and stripped down properly.

There are often also receptacles for this sort of thing in supermarkets too.

Binning them with the general rubbish is totally irresponsible and I don't know anyone who does it.

You need to retrieve them.

grumpygrape · 12/01/2026 13:10

There are times when I wonder how some people manage to get up and put their clothes on in the morning. Let alone post on forums, drive cars, raise children, feed themselves, but can't or won't recycle the right things in the right places.

godmum56 · 12/01/2026 12:07

Tippexy · 12/01/2026 12:00

Again, I’m doing well if I get to a supermarket and have a) £1 for the trolley and/or b) my shopping bags. 😄

With the greatest will in the world, I just do not have the organisational skills to be one of those people who can have a little battery bucket and take its contents to the supermarket regularly. Especially since my supermarket trips tend to be impromptu, on the way home from somewhere.

I do recycle into all the household bins though so ultimately, ‘good enough’ is going to have to be good enough! 😊

Edited

yes you do, you are choosing not to use them.

RedRiverShore6 · 12/01/2026 12:05

I leave DH to deal with the batteries, he uses most of them, he collects them in a bag and takes them down Asda if he's walking past, they are quite heavy in bulk.

Tippexy · 12/01/2026 12:00

Again, I’m doing well if I get to a supermarket and have a) £1 for the trolley and/or b) my shopping bags. 😄

With the greatest will in the world, I just do not have the organisational skills to be one of those people who can have a little battery bucket and take its contents to the supermarket regularly. Especially since my supermarket trips tend to be impromptu, on the way home from somewhere.

I do recycle into all the household bins though so ultimately, ‘good enough’ is going to have to be good enough! 😊

littleorangefox · 12/01/2026 11:57

godmum56 · 12/01/2026 11:42

if you have a system set up for recycling lithium batteries, could you just change it to include all batteries?

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Oh we don't have a system for that because I couldn't tell you the last time I disposed of a lithium battery!

TheHumanRepresentative · 12/01/2026 11:53

I also had no clue we couldn't put batteries in the regular bin!

RedRiverShore6 · 12/01/2026 11:48

It was thought to be a lithium battery that set a local recycling depot on fire, huge amount of damage, use of emergency services and black smoke for ages

Our council collects small electricals and stuff like phones weekly with the bin collection

ladyofshertonabbas · 12/01/2026 11:46

yabu, recycle them

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