Most businesses don't think about what happens to phones at the end of their life. Find out your options and what you need to do before a device leaves your organisation.

What happens to business phones at the end of their life?

When a business phone reaches the end of its life, you have several options: reuse it within your organisation, trade it in, recycle it through a certified provider, or return it to your leasing company.

In 2024, 51% of EU individuals kept their old mobile phone in their household when they were done with it, while only 11% recycled it.

The same habit can often apply to businesses. Old devices accumulate, and the opportunity to reuse devices or recover value from them is missed. This article covers what your options are and what you need to do when considering business phone recycling.

What happens to business phones at the end of their life?

When a business phone is no longer needed, there are several options, and reusing or refurbishing the device is almost always the most sustainable choice.

A refurbished phone can have 87% lower carbon impact than a newly manufactured one.

That means redeploying a wiped device to another employee or trading it in for refurbishment is significantly better for the environment than buying a new one. Here are your main options:

Reuse: If the device still works and is in good condition, wipe it and redeploy it to another employee.

Trade in: Either use a manufacturer trade-in scheme, or a third party. These allow you to recover some of the residual value of the device.

Recycle: If the device can’t be reused, a certified e-waste recycler can recover valuable materials and dispose of it responsibly.

Use a manufacturer take-back scheme: Many manufacturers and contract providers offer their own recycling or refurbishment programmes for end-of-life devices.

Return to your leasing provider: If you lease devices rather than buying them outright, you can return to the lender at the end of your lease period.

Over 5.3 billion mobile phones are expected to become e-waste — out of 16 billion in use worldwide.

Most of those devices will end up in drawers or landfill. Ensuring you have a device lifecycle management plan can help to ensure your business devices are handled responsibly, and that company data is properly removed.

Business phone recycling: What you need to do

Before recycling, trading in, or returning a business phone, you need to back up your data, wipe the device, and check your compliance obligations.

Check your compliance obligations

Before you do anything with an old device, check what data protection obligations you’re bound by. Under regulations like GDPR, you’re responsible for disposing of personal data securely and permanently.

Back up any data you need to keep

Before wiping a device, make sure that you’ve kept any data that you need to. This includes things like contacts and call logs, locally stored files, and authenticator app tokens if the device is being used for two-factor authentication. All important data should be backed up, whether to your MDM platform, cloud storage or another secure location.

Wipe all data

42% of used devices sold on eBay contained recoverable personal or corporate data.

In practice, that means simply deleting files or doing a basic reset isn't enough to remove data from a device.

You can use specialised software or a third-party company that overwrites data – and some phone recycling companies offer both services for ease. If you're handing the device to a trade-in or recycling company, ask them to confirm their data destruction process.

If leasing: speak to your provider

If you lease devices, contact your provider before taking any action. Most leasing agreements include an end-of-life process. That means they'll typically collect the device, handle data wiping, and manage recycling or refurbishment on your behalf.

If trading in: confirm the data wiping process

If you're trading in a device, ask the trade-in company to confirm how they handle data before you hand it over. Many trade-in providers will also offer data erasure as part of the process.

Reach out to a certified recycler

If the device can't be reused or traded in, you have two main options: contact a certified e-waste recycler, or check whether your device manufacturer offers a take-back or recycling programme. Either way, make sure data security is part of the process before handing over any device.

Less than one quarter of e-waste is properly collected and recycled, leaving $62 billion of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for.

Choosing a certified recycler doesn't just protect your data. It also ensures the valuable materials inside your old devices are recovered rather than lost to landfill.

Download our business phone lifecycle infographic

Proper smartphone lifecycle management at the end of their life protects your business data, ensures you stay compliant, and reduces your environmental impact. Download our business phone lifecycle infographic for a step-by-step visual guide to responsibly recycling your fleet.

Key takeaways

• When a business phone reaches the end of its life, your options are reuse, trade-in, recycling, or returning it to your leasing provider.

• Always use certified software, your MDM platform or a third-party service to wipe the phone before it leaves your organisation.

• If you lease devices, your provider should handle the end-of-life process. Check your contract and confirm their data security process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I recycle business phones?

Before recycling, back up any data you need to keep, wipe the phone, perform a factory reset, and remove the SIM card and accessories. Then choose a recycling method. This may be a certified recycling provider, a retail scheme, or manufacturer recycling.

What is business phone recycling?

Business phone recycling is the process of responsibly disposing of company mobile devices at the end of their working life. It ensures old devices are reused for parts or responsibly recycled, rather than going to landfill.