Councils may recoup Iceland cash

Public bodies placed about a billion pounds in Icelandic banks

Local councils which invested hundreds of millions of pounds in Icelandic banks have been given indications that they may get most of their money back.

Banks in Iceland were taken over by the authorities when the country's financial system collapsed in October.

Administrators for Heritable Bank, the UK arm of Landsbanki, have indicated its creditors could get up to 80% of funds back - equating to about £300m.

It is thought about £1bn in UK public money was deposited in Iceland's banks.

Heritable Bank is a UK bank which was placed into administration after the parent bank, Landsbanki, was nationalised by the Iceland government.

BBC business reporter Ben Shore said local government officials had also indicated that negotiations over deposits at other Icelandic banks were going well.

The Audit Commission, which itself deposited £10m in Icelandic banks, has previously said most councils had "heeded warnings" about the declining credit worthiness of Icelandic banks during 2008 and taken action accordingly.

However, it has said that some did not do this, describing a handful as behaving "negligently".

It reserved particular criticism for institutions which continued to deposit money after 30 September, when the credit ratings of Glitnir and Landsbanki were downgraded to "adequate".

This is below that deemed acceptable under guidance to town halls.

The two Icelandic banks went under just over a week later.

How an old phone can make money

As well as making money people are helping others and the environment

It is unlikely that the global recession has completely dampened people's enthusiasm for new gadgets this Christmas.

But for cash-strapped consumers with a shiny new mobile in their hands, there is a way of making money from their old, unwanted handsets.

According to mobile phone trade-in website FoneBank, only 20% of UK consumers are recycling their mobiles but those that do can recycle their old mobiles for cash.

A survey it conducted to find out what people did with their mobile found that 28% put them away in a drawer while 23% simply threw them away.

"It's crazy that a lot of people out there are still just chucking their phones in the bin when they no longer have any use for them," said Mark Harrison, director of Fonebank.

In November Fonebank recycled 10,000 mobiles

The need to recycle electronic devices such as phones, PDAs and digital music players is more than just a financial one as many contain materials that can be harmful to the environment.

The main problem lies with the batteries used to power the phones, some of which contain toxic substances such as cadmium, which can contaminate the water table.

Mobile phones now come under the WEEE directive, a piece of European legislation which aims to reduce the amount of electronic waste that ends up in landfill sites.

It requires member nations to collect and recycle the equivalent of 4kg of e-waste for every person living in the country.

Manufacturers, importers and retailers of electronic equipment are obliged to put systems in place that allow customers to recycle their obsolete devices free of charge although households are under no obligation.

Fonebank recycled around 10,000 phones in November, the majority of which are earmarked for Africa, Pakistan, India and South East Asia.

"It is a lot more difficult to buy a brand new phone in Africa and they are prohibitively expensive, so a good, second-hand phone is very attractive," said Ollie Tagg, director of Fonebank.

Right thing

During November Fonebank sent out £200,000 worth of cheques, with an average per person of £50, although an iPhone can raise much more.

"One of the most popular ones traded in during October was Nokia's N95 which can raise £102 for the owner," said Mr Tagg.

"People recycling their phones make a bit of money and feel they are doing the right thing. The whole process takes three minutes online and then they just have to stick their phone in a jiffy bag," he added.

This year Fonebank has teamed up with Oxfam to donate a minimum of 10% of the value of the phone to aid the charity's work in the developing world.

Other charities, including Age Concern and the British Red Cross, are also offering people the chance to donate phones.

During December some six million handsets will have been exchanged.

And for those who really can't be bothered to post off their old handset there are other ways of recycling them.

"I have spent literally hundreds over the years on toys for my kids but the thing they've liked the most are old mobiles, particularly ones that flip and flash," one respondent to the FoneBank survey revealed.