O2 Recycle, the two-year-old project that pays customers for old phones and raises money for charity, has launched a week-long challenge to set a new world record.

The O2-supported scheme is asking mobile phone users to visit their nearest O2 store from 7th to 13th October 2011 and donate an old mobile phone.

Mark Bridge writes:

If you’ve worked in retail, you’re probably aware of the ‘mystery shopper’. This is someone who appears to be a regular consumer but is actually reviewing your performance. Perhaps they’re working for your employer, maybe they’re conducting an independent survey, they may even be reporting for a magazine or newspaper. But they’re about as welcome as a knock on the front door when you’re at home in the shower.

Mark Bridge writes:

Recycling an unwanted mobile phone makes sense. It's good for the environment and it generates cash as well.

Newer phones recycled in Western Europe are likely to be reconditioned and resold locally, while older models may be reconditioned for use in developing countries. Damaged phones are either used for spares or are broken down for the metals and minerals in their components.

But what happens when people in those developing countries need to recycle their phones?

Mobile phone recycling has become increasingly mainstream, with many millions of people in the UK handing in their old mobile phones and electrical gadgets for cash. It's a growth industry that's seen more and more companies and websites offering cash bonuses to customers selling mobile phones.

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A survey of second-hand phones by mobile phone forensics company Disklabs (reported in The Guardian) found over half of them contained personal information that could be retrieved.