Trash Talkin’

January is one of the busiest times for cell phone recycling, because so many are replaced or upgraded during the holidays. Since your trusty cell contains not-so-nice materials like arsenic, lead and zinc, keeping it out of a landfill is a must. Even if you think one phone is too small to do much environmental harm, its power comes in volume – over 1.1 billion phones were sold in 2007 alone.

Do Some Good

A majority of cell phone “recycling” is actually “reuse.” Often, old phones are refurbished to be sold in other countries, where the demand for the latest-and-greatest isn’t as high. Or, phones are reused here in the U.S. to help out victims of domestic violence or support charitable organizations through their resale. Even if there isn’t a collection spot near you, mail-back programs mean you can help out right from home.

Excerpt from article found on earth911.com. Type in “cell phones” to find complete article.

Published in the Jan/Feb 2009 Newletter