In the past ten years I have probably owned around 9 different cell phones and usually had to turn in my old phone in order to obtain a new one (yeah, I’m talking about you AT & T!).  So, I’ve never thought of where all the old cell phones go once they’ve been replaced.  I guess in the back of my mind, I must have hoped there was a beautiful cell phone heaven in the sky.  So I guess you can say I was pretty surprised when I realized how many unwanted phones end up in trash dumps.

From what I read, there are two pretty excellent reasons not to toss your old phone. 1) Most cell phones contain precious metals like silver and gold (I always said cell phones must be made of gold with as expensive as they are) and 2) Cell phones contain substances that really need to be disposed of in a safe manner, such as Brominated flame retardants, Lead, Beryllium (which if not burned correctly can omit serious toxic dioxins) and Cadmium in the battery.

I had no idea how people would go about recycling old cell phones but I came up with a few good ideas while playing around on the internet. www.grcrecycling.com offers you money for your old phone with free shipping and promises no landfill recycling. www.cellularrecycler.com is another great idea in that instead of asking for just YOUR old phone, they provide you with promotional letters and guides so you can start a cellular recycling program.  This is usually done to make money for an organization or charity. And last but not least…EBAY BABY!  There’s always somebody out there that for some reason would just die to own your outdated, broken (probably dropped in the toilet if you’re my mom) and seriously unuseful cell phones.

So with a little extra work on your part, you can dispose of your old phone safely AND put a little money in your pocket!