London, Jun 3 (IANS): British homes have a huge number of unused mobile phones that could be worth around 2.7 billion pounds, a new market research has revealed.

The research by leading global telecommunications operator Orange reveals that at least 32 percent of Britons are unaware they could recycle their old and unused mobile phones, says the Daily Telegraph.

Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services. The study was commissioned by the company to promote its new recycling scheme.

The study was based on a theory that everybody in Britain has an old mobile phone they could recycle. There are reportedly more mobile phone accounts in Britain than there are people.

The study said 40 percent of people have never recycled an old phone and 24 percent have never even considered the possibility.

Orange said its recycling offer on handsets average 45 pounds sterling and can sometimes rise to as high as 252 pounds.

More than one in 10 people said they held on to old handsets for sentimental reasons - rising to 23 percent among 18-24 year olds.