Facing the accelerating issue of electronic waste (e-waste), with a record 62 million tons generated globally in 2022 and less than a quarter documented as formally collected and recycled, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions to mitigate their environmental and health repercussions. The rate at which e-waste is growing is five times faster than the rate of documented recycling, highlighting a widening gap in e-waste management. This burgeoning challenge not only poses severe environmental and human health risks but also signifies a loss of valuable natural resources, estimated at US 61 billion in 2022 due to inadequate recycling efforts. Moreover, the disparity in technological access continues to widen in emerging economies, often further hindered by the scarcity and elevated costs of modern hardware. This discrepancy exacerbates barriers to sustainable development, underscoring the urgent need for equitable and innovative technological solutions to bridge this gap. This paper introduces an innovative solution to these intertwined challenges: the repurposing of discarded smartphones. For the implementations as edge gateways for IoT applications, feasible on nearly all Android smartphones released later than 2014. By harnessing old Android phones that are readily available and perceived as not having apparent value, we propose a sustainable solution that not only addresses the issue of e-waste but also democratizes access to advanced technological resources.