The cell phone has become ubiquitous and so has the problem of old cell phone disposal. There are 257 million cell phone users in the U.S. No where is the built-in obsolesce that makes us constant consumers so blatant as with cell phones. The mobile phone industry moves so quickly that today's cell phone is old well before its first birthday. The average person replaces their cells phone every 18 months making the backlog of old cell phones poised to enter landfills astronomical. Statistics show that the average cell phone owner has 3.5 "retired" cell phones sitting in drawers or in the nooks and crannies of closets, basements, and garages. Those statistics were certainly accurate for me. When I checked my old cell phone depository (a shoe box on some storage shelves), I found that I had 4 old cell phones waiting for disposal.

Unfortunately for our planet, these gadgets contain toxic heavy metals like lead and mercury that can contaminate our soil and water supply. Once in our water supply, these metals can be detrimental to our bodies, as well. Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium are harmful to our brain and kidney functions. So we all need to be responsible and resist the urge to just toss the old phones in the garbage. Instead, we need to investigate the recycling options. There are many good ways to responsibly recycle these gadgets so they don't poison our environment.

Fortunately, there are many responsible companies that have recycling programs to help us get rid of old cell phones without browning our green earth. The easiest way to get rid of an old cell phone is to toss it into a recycling bin at a store that supports recycling. You will see recycling bins for cell phones and other items at many stores like Best Buy, RadioShack, and ALLTEL. Some hardware stores like Lowe's and general purpose stores like Wal-Mart also have recycle bins. Many of these stores work through a national program called Call2Recycle. At their website at, you can simply enter your zip code to get a list of participating recycling stores in your area. You can also call them at 1-877-2-RECYCLE. To find other recycling options you can also visit Earth 911. They list several recycling stores including Best Buy, Staples, and the Sanford OfficeMax.

If you are interested in helping soldiers and sailors who are stationed overseas, check out the Cell Phones for Soldiers website at. When you donate a cell phone, it is sold to a recycling company and is properly processed. The money received is used to purchase telephone calling cards which are distributed to the military allowing them to call home from their overseas posts. AT&T stores are participating drop-off points through July 2008.

If you want to choose your charity, check out the Collective Good mobile phone recycling program. This organizations allow you to choose the charity which you would like to have your cell phone donation support. They have a wide selection of charities. Most of them are the local arms of national charities. They include help for animals, environmental support groups, domestic and international aid groups, and religious and medical groups. There are even a few political groups listed. A nice feature is that they provide links to the charities' websites so you can get a better feel for the charity involved.

At Collective Good, you simply select a charity and fill out a simple form. You are then presented with a printable barcode to include in your shipment so that your selected charity receives the benefits from your donation. If you fill put your name and a valid email or street address on the form you will receive a donation acknowledgement. If you aren't concerned about that, you can simply bypass filling the information in the form. As long as you check the box accepting the terms and conditions regarding your donation, you will still get to the page with the barcode for the charity and the address for the donation. The terms and conditions state that you have disconnected your cell phone service and removed any sensitive or private data from your cell phone. Obviously, these are two good things to remember whenever and wherever you decide to donate your phone.

These are just a few of the many options available for recycling old cell phones. If you check the web and keep your eyes peeled in stores, you will find many more. While you are researching this, you will probably also find places for recycling ink cartridges, computers and other electronics. Next week, I'll give you a head start on what to do with your old computer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 130 million cell phones will be retired this year, but fewer than 20 percent will be recycled.. Be sure to do your part. We should be recycling 100% of our used cell phones!