The Mobile Phone Repair Company, owned by 20:20 Mobile, has launched a major new online recycling scheme.

It is estimated that almost 90 million old mobile phones are lurking in drawers and cupboards across the UK.

Visitors to the new site (www.mprc.co.uk/recycle) fill in a form detailing what handset they have got. They are then sent a Freepost envelope, and once the phone is sent in, they are credited with money.

Mobile Phone Repair Company’s managing director, Martin O’Grady, said: ‘A few other companies operate in this field, but we are offering a simpler way for customers and charities to get paid, and we accept a huge variety of makes and models.

‘There is a hard-headed business case behind this for us. But it also allows people to get something back for their old phones.’