The Afterlife of Cell Phones Is Not Pretty

If you are like millions of other Americans, it is unlikely that you are still texting your loved ones on the same flip phone you used four years ago. You might not even be using the same phone you had last year. Who can blame you? Marketing gurus constantly introduce shinier phones with innovative features and upgrades that make our current ones seem so 2008. According to the Basel Convention, Americans replace roughly 400 million electronics every year. But, where do all of the unwanted tech devices go?

The scary reality:

  • In the U.S alone, over 350 million electronic gadgets end up in local landfills
  • Majority of e-waste contains toxins such as mercury and lead
  • Some irresponsible recycling centers ship our electronic waste overseas to developing countries where valuable parts are stripped out and toxic metals are burned or trashed

Have an old phone in your desk drawer? Have a computer that is just collecting dust? Celebrate Earth Day this Sunday, April 22nd by taking it to a responsible e-waste recycler. To make it easier to recycle unwanted electronics, HP and Staples have teamed up to provide a free recycle drop off at all Staples locations for the next two years. Go ahead, do your part, Mother Nature and future generations will thank you.

[via BBC and Scientific American]