Green Your Tech: How to e-cycle your cell phone

Cell phones are pocket-sized e-waste nightmares. It doesn't matter if you have an Android, an iPhone, or a BlackBerry; chances are it's made of environmentally unfriendly plastic, glass, and metal. And it's probably filled with toxic battery juice, too. The green light at the end of the ever-growing e-waste tunnel is that used cell phones — regardless of brand, model, contract, smart, or not-so-smartphone status  — can be e-cycled, upcycled, and even reincarnated as eco art.

So when you ditch your old phone for a new, improved one (and you will), consider making a clean, environmentally responsible break, unlike the roughly 97% of consumers who carelessly toss theirs in the trash. Make the greener choice, and put your unwanted cell out to pasture with the help of an e-cycling program that will salvage its reusable parts, safely dispose of its battery, and breathe new life into its gazillion recyclable parts. Or even find a fun, new way to reuse your phone.  

Wipe it clean first
Don't forget to retrieve your contacts and delete all of your applications and data from your cell before you e-cycle it. You don't want your personal pics, PIN and credit card numbers, and other sensitive, identifying stats to come back to haunt you on Twitter, Facebook, or deep within your online banking account. If you have a BlackBerry, we can walk you through how to purge it.  

That said, let's move on to greener pastures with a few cell phone e-cycling and upcycling ideas. Bonus: They're all free!


1. Trade it for cash at an EcoATM. How? Track down a white and green EcoATM machine near you. We spotted one in the food court at the local mall. First, plug your phone into the kiosk's one-size-fits-all cable. Next, let the EcoATM do its magic. It will scan the inside of your phone and inspect the outside (with a built-in camera).Values range from as high as $300 for newer phones to as low as $2 for older ones.

If you decide to go for it, place your phone in the drawer on the left front side of the kiosk and choose your reward from the touchscreen. The choices are trade-up coupons (for discounts on new phones), gift cards, charity contributions in your name, or dollars in hand — yes, that would be cold, hard cash, the other green people (try to) save.  

2. E-cycle it for a cause with Eco-Cell. Send your phone to Eco-Cell, the official recycling organization of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. They'll turn it into a charitable donation for a non-profit in need. Eco-Cell donations benefit women's and homeless shelters, hospitals, national parks, zoos, and hundreds more charity groups. Why not host your own Eco-Cell fundraising drive with your local school, church, sports team, or gardening club? You can send the proceeds to an Eco-Cell partner charity or your own cause.  

3. Flipswap it and plant a tree. If you're after a living, oxygen-releasing reminder of your e-cycling efforts, mail your old cell to Flipswap. They'll plant a ReLeaf tree especially for you. As the e-cyclers at Flipswap say, "More trees mean cleaner air to breathe, less carbon dioxide to heat things up, and cleaner water for drinking and washing your hybrid car." And we need more of all of those good things.  

4. Upcycle it. Simply keep your cell and use it as something — anything that doesn't require a wireless data or calling plan, that is. Give it a spin as an MP3 player, a word processor, an alarm clock, a portable gaming device, or a digital day planner. If your old phone takes photos and videos, keep it around as a backup camera or camcorder. However, without internet connectivity, you won't be able to MMS, email, geotag, or upload pics and videos to Flickr or anywhere else online. You will be able to show them off from your phone, though.
 
Good on you for stepping up and getting rid of your old phone in a green way. Your reward, aside from scoring a newer, cooler cell, smartphone, or tablet? That warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from doing right by Mother Nature. You'll know what we mean when you stop your phone from melting into a mercury-oozing e-waste puddle in a landfill (for the next century or 3).

Whatever phone you upgrade to, you might want to consider DIY charging it with a hand-cranked Eco-Smart Dynamo charger. Crank it up for 1 minute, and you'll get a 10- to 30-minute, green guilt-free charge.

While you're at it, dust off any other broken or antiquated computers, DVD players, and other unwanted electronic gadgets and e-cycle those, too. Almost any gizmo can be e-cycled. You just have to know where.   

 

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