How to donate your old smartphone to #CommunityCalling

If you've got a spare, working smartphone sat gathering dust in a kitchen drawer, you're far from alone!

It's estimated that there are around 28 million working smartphones in households across the UK - and a new Hubbub project - #communitycalling - aims to get some of them out of kitchen drawers and into the hands of people who need a phone, so they can access essential services or to stay connected with family and friends.

The project launched in Leeds at the end on 25th January - and Hubbub, with their funding partner O2, are aiming to collect and redistribute 2000 phones to people who need them in Leeds.

They'll pass the phones on via a network of trusted local community organisations, but first of all they need the phones!

And thanks to O2, everyone who receives a donated phone will also be able to access 12 months worth of data.

We had a chat with Emily from Hubbub to find out how #communitycalling works, and how easy it is for you to donate your old smartphone.

All the information is on the #communitycalling website - but they've made it as easy as possible for you to get involved. If your phone is a smartphone, has got an intact screen, and can hold a charge, then they'd love you to donate your phone.

We love this kind of project at Zero Waste Leeds - as it's both an opportunity to reduce waste, and to offer support to people in our city who need our help during COVID 19.

And we know from how generously people have responded to the work of Digital Access West Yorkshire and Tech Angels - who are both collecting laptops and tablets - that our city will respond well to this call-out for mobile phones too.

We're sure that between us we can find 2000 phones in drawers across Leeds!