As most of the British population changes their used handsets within every twelve to fourteen months for an updated mobile phone, the issue of what to do with the spare handsets has come into forefront.

It has been found out that used mobile phones contribute towards most of the landfills in the United Kingdom. As mobile phones contain a wide range of electronic parts, it leaks various harmful chemicals into the soil, if not recycled appropriately, which can eventually contaminate drinking water.

Due to such environmental issues, Governments are putting increasing amount of pressure on mobile phone manufacturers to promote recycling schemes in order to generate awareness among consumers.

According to a recent survey carried out by Hitwise, consumers have increased level of awareness about mobile phone recycling. The survey revealed that there has been a sharp rise in internet searches for mobile phone recycling.

There has been 189% rise in internet searches from May 2008 to May 2009. The most popular keywords that people use to search are: ‘recycle mobile phones’ and ‘mobile phone recycling’. The number of searches using those keywords has nearly quadrupled in the past year.

Hitwise believes that one of the key reasons for dramatic increase in consumer awareness is due to the fact that the visibility of various ad campaigns has increased and thus educated consumers about the benefits of recycling.

Moreover, another key reason is a sharp rise in the number of schemes offered by mobile phone manufacturers and other third party companies. These schemes aim to offers incentive to consumers for recycling by offering cash for used mobile phones.