With cell phones becoming as much a fashion accessory as a necessity for many people, it is no wonder that 130 million cellphones are expected to be discarded at the end of the year. So that begs the question, what do we do with our phone once it has reached the end of its life?
Image by Chris Jordan
The EPA has announced a cell phone recycling partnership with device makers and service providers. What this means for you is that recycling your old cell phone can be done by dropping it off in store or through the mail. Hopefully this initiative raises the number of recycled cell phones from the currently low 20%.
-via Inhabitat
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I thought they get dumped in third world countries, such as this, this, and this.
I'm sure there's many more articles around. People aren't necessarily aware of this "practice"..
Or maybe this is in fact the so-called Recycling Program.
view MintC's profile
Coltan mining in the Congo for cell phones and computer chips is the issue at the heart of the endless war. Not only does it destroy the lives of the Congolese people, it also causes habitat loss for the mountain gorilla.
http://www.cellular-news.com/coltan/
The best thing we can do is NOT replace phones for fashion but use them as long as they function.
view Slim's profile
The more you know...
view art's profile
I also felt guilty at the thought of just throwing away cellphones (also considering how many toxic/precious metals they contain) -- so what I've done is donate the cellphones to women's shelters so they can be used for emergency calls. Call around your area and usually there are local agencies that accept them.
view devlo's profile