In the recent decade, there has been a notable increase in the use of mobile phones. Reports indicate that people buy new phones fairly often and most homes have many cell phones that are out of use. Instead of increasing the number of unused mobile phones in your house, phone recycling is suggested.

According to the EPA, in the year 2007, there were around 14 million Americans who chose to recycle phones. However, this is only about 1% of all the unused cell phones in the world. On an average, most mobile phones will work efficiently for a period of about 18 months, after which they will either stop working, or they will grow obsolete. The problem with simply throwing your phone into the trash is that these phones contain sufficient amounts of Mercury, Lead, Arsenic, PVC, Cadmium, Chromium, Barium, Antimony and several Brominated compounds, which will end up in land fills if they are not properly disposed. Recycling phones, especially if they are in working condition is a great way to help the community, humanity, health and the environment.

There are a number ways in which to recycle old mobile phones if you take into account The Living Green Mantra: Reduce Reuse Recycle, If they are in working condition, then there are many charities and shops that will accept these phones, and even pay you money to take them off your hands. They can also be refurbished and sold to people who cannot afford to buy a new phone. If your cell phone is not working, there are still a number of agencies that will be willing to accept them. These companies will generally use them to extract plastics and precious materials, which can then be used by them. Finding a way to recycle your cell phone is really easy, with the number of resources available on the Internet.