Give it to local charities

Local schemes
If you'd rather send your old technology closer to home there are plenty of people in the UK who need second-hand equipment.

There are several directory-style sites you can search for local organisations, including itforcharities.co.uk and reuze.co.uk, among others. Most of these organisations deal with PCs, but there are organisations that reuse mobile phones and other devices.

High street charity shops
It's a misconception that charity shops take anything, particularly when it comes to electrical and electronic devices. It's always a good idea to phone up your local charity shop to find out what they take.

Oxfam has a few shops that will take electrical items, but because they have to be tested and they tend to become obsolete very quickly, Oxfam doesn't actively encourage taking in old computers and TVs.

It will take mobile phones and printer cartridges, however. These are sent off to be recycled and the proceeds used to fund projects elsewhere. You can either get a freepost envelope or take your handsets directly to a high street shop. Oxfam also accepts CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes.

Cancer Research doesn't take any technology at all, but it will take DVDs, CDs and videos. This is representative of most charity shops.

According to almost every charity we spoke to, the worst thing you can do is leave bagfuls of unwanted old technology at their doorstep, because they simply can't sell it without testing it first and most don't have the facilities to do that.