Did you get a new smartphone for Christmas? If you’re not sure what to do with your old one, it could be a lifeline to someone.
Stockport Council has teamed up with Hubbub’s Community Calling scheme and Starting Point, part of the DigiKnow alliance tackling digital exclusion in Stockport, to distribute recycled smartphones to vulnerable households who don’t have access to the internet. Spare smartphones can be dropped off at any open Stockport library or mailed via a freepost kit. Phones will be refurbished and passed on to people who need them, together with 12 months of free credit, provided by O2.
Councillor Kate Butler, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focus and Engagement says: “Covid-19 has forced us to move more of our lives online. But for people without internet access, lockdown and social isolation is so much harder, as they struggle to get current information, buy groceries or find someone to talk to. With this new Community Calling scheme, your old smartphone could be recycled and gifted to someone in need who doesn’t have access to the internet. If you can spare a smartphone that you no longer use, you’ll be helping the digitally excluded in Stockport, while also helping to reduce e-waste. Why not help the community at the start of 2021 and support this fantastic scheme?”
You can drop off your old smartphone at the following Stockport libraries: Bramhall, Bredbury, Brinnington, Cheadle, Edgeley, Hazel Grove, the Heatons, Marple, Reddish.
For a freepost envelope or any further information on the scheme, please visit the Community Calling website.
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world, and only 20% of it gets recycled. Instead of throwing out that old smartphone or letting it gather dust, it could be a lifeline to someone socially isolated. A rehomed smart device can help one of the 1.9 million UK households with no internet access get online. Please donate any smartphones you no longer use and spread the word to others.
