No matter if you’ve bought your current cell phone brand new or used, sooner or later you may want accessories, like headsets, cases, or AC adapters. You may also find that your battery life is slowly growing shorter and shorter, in which case you may want to replace the battery rather than the whole phone.

Cases for cell phones are a popular accessory, so if you need one, keep in mind that a lot of phones fit in to numerous cases. Although there may not be a case made specifically for your phone anymore, chances are you can find a case for a different model that will fit your phone. If you strike out there as well, look online at places like eBay for people selling used cases made for your phone. The benefit here will be additional cost savings.

Probably the most common accessory to purchase for a cell phone is a hands-free device that allows you to talk on the phone without holding it up to your ear. These have risen in popularity as many states have implemented laws making it illegal to drive and talk on the phone without one of these devices. Bluetooth headsets allow you to do this without any additional wires and the most convenient, but only work on Bluetooth enabled phones. If this is what you are searching for, make sure you shop for a phone that has Bluetooth technology. If your refurbished cell phone does not have Bluetooth, you can get a hands free system that resembles a set of ear-bud headphones. The advantage here is that these systems are often much cheaper than Bluetooth headsets but offer the same kind of functionality.

Finding replacement batteries and accessories for refurbished cell phones may be a little trickier than finding these items for a phone you purchased new, because they are usually specific to that model of phone. In some cases, the same battery will work on a number of similar phone models, but even this is rare. If the phone is no longer being sold by the dealer or company, then the accessories may not be sold new either. In that case, you can look online or locally for used replacement parts.

A new charger, or one that works in your car, are also popular. Anyone who has had a dead battery and been away from home has likely realized that most chargers only work on a specific model of phone. This means that you won’t be able to purchase a charger from a different phone if you actually want to recharge your battery. If you need a new charger for your used cell phone, check with the manufacturer to see what options you have, or look in your local Radio Shack type store that stocks a wide range of “universal” chagers with adapters for multiple phones.

Any time you need a replacement part, make sure you get the part number from the manufacturer. Manufacturers may also have a list of other phones that have parts that are compatible with your phone, which can be helpful if accessories for your phone are hard to find. So, if you need a new charger for your refurbished Verizon phones, check with Verizon for information about part numbers and other compatible parts before beginning your search. Finally, make sure that the replacement parts and accessories you get are authentic. There are a number of counterfeits out there that can hamper the performance of your phone. Having the exact part number that you need goes a long way in finding the exact part that you need.

Estimates vary, but somewhere around 500 million used cell phones are occupying drawers, closets, and other spots in consumers’ homes throughout the country. There are even more phones being sent to landfills each year where they take up space for a long, long time because they can’t decompose. Yes, they are small, but they are also toxic and are single handedly becoming one of the largest trash problems in our country – right up there with plastic bags. The real tradegy is how simple it would be to break this cycle.

The average American family has three old cell phones taking up space in their homes, some of which are used T-Mobile cell phones. These phones may be broken or may have been replaced via an upgrade. Instead of keeping these phones around your house, or throwing them away, they can be returned to mobile providers and cell phone recycling boxes found in shopping centers throughout the country. A large majority of these phones are either recycled or refurbished, which makes them fully capable of being used again, and passes them on at a discounted price to consumers.

Beyond turning in your old cell phones, you can also start purchasing used cell phones to help the growing problem. Refurbished cell phones can be found at steep discounts, compared to their brand-new counterparts, and are a great way to keep toxic chemicals out of landfills.

New cell phones continue to get more expensive and more people are being priced out of purchasing a new phone with the features they want. Switching to a refurbished cellular phone and recycling your old phone are great ways to pass savings on to others and help protect our environment from the harmful effects of cell phones in landfills.