If your cell phone contract is anything like mine, every two years you get a voucher giving you a certain amount of money toward a new phone. That's all well and good, because who doesn't like getting new gadgets? The problem is, what are you going to do with your old phone?
The easiest option, of course, is to just throw it away. But instead you could throw it to someone who needs that phone with just a bit more effort. There are several charities set up for that purpose:
- Cell Phones For Soldiers sells donated phones in exchange for prepaid calling cards that they distribute to military personnel serving overseas. So far they have raised almost $2 million in donations.
- The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence gives donated phones to victims of domestic violence to be used in cases of emergency.
- ReCellular, a cell phone resale company, has a page devoted to charity and recycling programs for phones.
So, instead of throwing your old phone away, take the time to either recycle or donate it to a worthy cause.
--Cody
Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
Thank you for these excellent ways to put old cell phones to good use, I strongly support creating less waste. However, I am currently grappling with the issue of extreme consumerism. Why is it that we feel a constant need to upgrade and have the "latest and greatest"? It seems that people are in such a rush to have the next best thing that no one steps back to examine the effect that cell phones have on society -- the good and the bad.
Hi Jessica. You make a good point--extreme consumerism is definitely a problem. At least there are outlets other than the garbage dump for old technology, no matter how much, or how little, dust it has collected.
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