During the 2020 Summer Olympics games in Tokyo, metal from your old smartphone might get draped around winners’ necks.
Tokyo unveiled its Olympic medals made from recycled phones and other used electronics. They’re so beautiful that you’d never guess they’re made out of e-waste.
Take a closer look:
Cult of Mac’s buyback program is the best way to take that dusty tablet in your sock drawer and turn it into cash. We’ve made it absolutely painless — you don’t even have to leave your house.
If you’re a decent person (we’ll assume you are since you’re a Cult of Mac reader), you don’t leave your old TV on the sidewalk when it’s outlived its usefulness. The same consideration for your neighbors and the environment should extend to your old Apple TV.
Whether you’re abandoning your old Apple TV to upgrade, replace a busted unit or to give up TV entirely (yeah right), the Cult of Mac buyback program will make sure you get the most money possible. Even better-known companies like Gazelle and Walmart can’t offer as much, and you’ll be making sure your dated or defunct device ends up in the right place.
No matter how well you take care of an Android phone, the time will come for it to count its last electric sheep. Selling a smartphone, even a functioning one, can be a hassle — and less than rewarding when dealing with the typical Android buyback program or Craigslist buyer.
If you’ve got a Samsung, LG or HTC phone, even one that’s gone completely kaput, Cult of Mac’s buyback program makes it easy to trade it in for the best price.
The iPod turns 15 this year. Hard to believe, right? It’s also hard to believe you still have that old iPod at all, what with the amazing music-carrying capacity of iPhones, iPads — heck, even your Apple Watch.
If you’re not using your old iPod (and it’s not one of those incredibly valuable special edition iPods that collectors are snapping up), you should sell your old iPod to us. Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program will make sure you get as much cash as possible.
Got your eye on one of Apple’s latest super-sexy MacBooks? Wipe the drool from your chin, and sell your old MacBook to us — even if it fell off a bridge.
You could go through the sketchy and time-consuming process of selling your computer on Craigslist, but good luck if it’s in less than mint condition. We’ve got a better way to make sure you get what you deserve for your old computer.
In most cases, Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program offers more for used or broken devices than Gazelle, Walmart, Best Buy or even Apple itself.
At long last, your local Apple Store has the iPhone 7 in stock.
The jet black one you preordered three weeks ago is finally shipping.
You’ve had the 7 Plus for 10 days, but wanted to keep a backup just in case your new phone spontaneously burst into flames.
Whatever your reason for not selling your old device yet, now is the perfect time to cash it in before prices drop further.
We recently launched a gadget buyback program that promises to pay more for used and broken Apple devices than Gazelle, Walmart and even Apple itself. This post is about the startup company we partnered with to bring you this service.
A college friend who bought a new phone and was about to trash a defunct iPhone 3G sparked the idea for MyPhones Unlimited, a smartphone recycling service that Cult of Mac recently partnered with.
“Two main thoughts came to mind,” says MyPhones Unlimited founder Gabe Trumbo. “One is that that can’t be good for that to just be thrown away, there has got to be a better way to recycle it. And beyond that, I’m sure there’s still some value in it.”
He was right. Trading in his friend’s phone himself, Trumbo got a bigger chunk of change than he expected — and immediately saw a market coupled to an important problem.
Ever open the drawer and go, “Oh yeah. I own a Jawbone UP”? It’s easy to forget about an old fitness tracker or smartwatch you’ve got stashed away, but the Cult of Mac buyback program makes rediscovering an unused wearable more like finding a forgotten wad of cash.
We’ll give you the best price for your wearables, from shiny Apple Watches to older, well-worn products that most other buyback programs won’t accept. It’s a no-brainer to quickly and easily turn an old, unused wearable into cold, hard cash.
Boy, iPhones sure do grow up fast. There’s a brand new model out almost every six months, while the one in your pocket gets sluggish and senile.
If you’re looking to upgrade and aren’t sure what to do with your hobbled old phone, sell your iPhone to us first! Most of the time, Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program can get you more money for your outdated, used or even broken devices than Gazelle, Walmart, Best Buy, and Apple themselves.
Liam, Apple’s robot that deconstructs iPhones to mine the valuable resources inside them, is certainly cool — but he’s still not the recycling machine we deserve (or need).
Just like any Apple product, Liam was designed to work well. But how much good does the robot, which took three years to develop and build, actually do?
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that technology is continually evolving. This is what we love about it. The excitement of the next Apple product, the newest TV or car. Innumerable websites keep up with rumors and changes, and companies show off their latest and greatest technology and electronics at countless conventions.
But there’s one big problem with this. What happens to our old stuff when we move on to the next thing?
Consumers have a nasty habit of throwing out their electronics as soon as newer, shinier models become available, and they rarely ever do so properly. Nearly 42 million tons of e-waste — everything from microwaves and electric shavers to washing machines, laptops, cellphones, TVs and computer monitors — entered the global garbage stream in 2014, according to a United Nations University report.
Like all trash, this stuff doesn’t just disappear. Instead, it stacks up in landfills. Unlike most trash, however, e-waste is often packed with valuable components — as well as toxic chemicals and materials that can cause real damage wherever they end up.
Kyle Wiens thinks the iPad should be banned. It’s a “highly immoral” product, he says, because it can’t be opened and repaired when the battery dies. It’s a throwaway device, and he wants governments to prohibit it.
“It’s not designed to be long-lasting,” said Wiens, who is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit. “It’s like selling a car that has to be replaced when the tires wear out.”
Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn’t just want reform — he wants revolution!
Here’s why.
ROSEVILLE, California – This is where your electronics go to die.
In a nondescript, 200,000-square-foot warehouse 20 miles northeast of Sacramento, box after box of discarded electronics and parts sit at Sims Recycling Solutions, awaiting their date with the “mega-shredder” at the end of the line. That’s where four rows of 22 hardened-steel blades will rip and grind the metal housings and circuit boards into tiny chunks.
“We recycle almost everything,” said Bill Vasquez, Sims’ vice president of U.S. operations, during Cult of Mac’s recent tour of the facility. He said more than 99 percent of the materials that pass through Sims’ doors gets recycled. “Our focus is to divert everything from landfill as much as possible.”
Kyle Wiens has seen the insides of just about every gadget under the sun, and he’s not surprised that the iPhone 6 Plus is susceptible to bending.
Wiens is CEO of iFixit, which is famous for its insightful teardowns of Apple products, and he says there’s nothing wrong with the design of the iPhone 6 Plus.
It’s long and thin. Duh — it’ll bend.
“I’m not surprised that it’s happening,” he told Cult of Mac in an email. “It’s thinner than other phones and metal bends.”
