As we begin a new year, now would be a great time to declutter old tech out of your life. But rather than just toss it in the bin, here’s a few ways you can upcycle your old tech to give it a new lease of life.

1: Recycle through RE:MOBILE

This is an industry-wide mobile phone recycling programme, which takes in any phone as long as they are still functional. These phones are then refurbished and exported to be reused in markets across Hong Kong, China and Eastern Europe. Best of all, a part of their profits are donated to ‘Sustainable Coastlines’ - a multi-award winning New Zealand charity enabling people to look after the coastlines and waterways they love.

Before you send us your old phone, please be sure to

• Sign out of any email services, cloud storage and any other apps that use your email.
• Perform a factory reset on the phone to remove all personal data from the device.
• Remove the SIM card from the phone.
• Leave the battery (if removable) in the phone.
• Switch the phone off.

Once you’ve done all of the above, just drop it off at any Vodafone store. Alternatively, you can courier it to us at the following address:

Freepost
RE:MOBILE
Private Bag 208004
Highbrook
Auckland 2161

2: Gift your old device to a community or a child.

If you have an old smartphone, you can gift it to a community in need. This could be a hospice, a charity or even just a friend. You could also load up the phone with kid-friendly apps and pass it down to your kids. Even without cellular service, they could still use it over Wi-Fi.

3: Trade-in a device.

Even if your mobile isn’t fully up and running, we may still be able to buy it from you for a reduced amount. Bring your phone into your nearest Vodafone store and see if it’s eligible for a trade in. If so you’ll get an in-store credit voucher to use on a new device.