How to Go Green: How to Recycle Old Cell Phones

With technology changing at a rapid pace its easy to get caught up in having the newest phone with the latest features and capabilities, but what do you do with your old phone? It's easy to toss it in the trash, but that adds up to a lot of non biodegradable waste in the land fills. Here are four ways to dispose of your old cell phones and PDA's in an earth friendly manner, you might even get to help someone out.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Personally I've used this program several times. I first heard about them through a mailer I received with my new phone. It was fast and easy and I like that it helps the troops. The site offers printable paid postage labels for you to use when sending in unwanted devices. If you choose to pay the shipping yourself, the organization will be able to get more money for getting our soldiers minutes to speak with their families. For every phone collected ReCellular provides an hour of talk time to soldiers who are abroad. The program was started by Robbie and Brittany Bergquist, two teenagers from Massachusetts and since its start the nonprofit organization has raised over two million dollars to help get phone cards to our troops. All donations are tax refundable so not only are you going green by recycling your old cell phone you're saving a little green too.

Call 2 Recycle

This website offers an easy to use website that helps you locate a drop off site for your cell phones and other rechargeable batteries. The site offers a lot of information on why it's so important to recycle as well as how to get your kids involved in the process. They even offer a ten page printable activity book to teach kids about the importance of recycling and waste management. The site notes that the average American uses 6 cordless devices all of those devices, including old cell phones, have rechargeable batteries that can be recycled once depleted.

Recycle My Cell Phone/Collective good

Even if I don't go though Cell Phones for Soldiers I like the idea that I can help someone by getting rid of gently used cell phones. I may want the newest phone I can get but many people can't afford a phone at all. Collective good allows you to pick a charity to donate your old cell phones to, you then provide some personal information (in order to receive your tax credit), and last you ship them the phone. The phones are refurbished and reused. If the phone does not work any working parts are removed and the rest is recycled. They recycle everything, the charger, the battery, the phone, even the packaging you send it in. This not only helps keep tons of garbage out of the landfills it puts phones in the hands of those who may otherwise go without.

GRC recycling

What if you have a lot of phones to get rid of? GRC recycling offers three different programs to assist with the collection of old cell phones, PDAs, and pagers. GRC is the largest grassroots organization dedicated to recycling phones and boasts to have recycled over 4,000,000 old cell phones. You can donate your old phones to GRC's nonprofit organizations or GRC will buy them from you. If you have a minimum of ten phones you are eligible to sell your unwanted cell phones. Finally if you need to fund raise with your community or school why not go green while you earn it. GRC sponsors fund raisers to collect used cell phones.

Cell phones for soldiers http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

Call to recycle http://www.rbrc.org/consumer/index.php

Collective Good http://www.collectivegood.com/about.asp or http://recyclemycellphone.org/recycle.cfm

GRC recycling http://www.grcrecycling.com/index.cfm?source=Google&keyword=cell+phone+recycling