Every year, 100 million cell phones are replaced or discarded in the United States. Less than 20% of this total are recycled or sent back to the manufacturers - the rest are lost, thrown to trash bins, or kept in drawers.

Why donate or recycle cell phones?

Cell phones are an important source for recyclable materials like plastic, glass, silver, gold, and coltan. Throwing away these old phones is basically equivalent to throwing away precious resources that could otherwise be reused to manufacture new cellular phones and other products.

A grimmer aspect to cell phone recycling is the toxicity of some of the metals found in cell phones. Once deposited in landfills, dangerous chemicals leaching out of old phone casing and batteries like brominated fire retardants (BFR), cadmium, lead, and mercury have the potential to contaminate nearby underground water sources. These chemicals have been known to cause cancer, brain damage, and nervous system disorders, among a host of other illnesses.

Donate cell phones to charity or non-profit

Donating your used mobile phone to your favorite charity is a most viable option worth considering. There are many charities, non-profit, or informal community- and school-based groups that are always collecting used phones across the country. Most of these organizations are involved in food relief, rehabilitation, international education, health, environment, and domestic violence prevention programs.

By donating your used cellular phones to any one of these entities, you're basically turning something - that would have been useless otherwise - into a tool to help these groups do their beneficial work. That old cell phone you're planning to chuck into the trash bin or stash away in your drawer might just help someone out there today.

Tax-deductible donations

If your dropping off or donating your old mobile directly to the non-profit, you may want to ask for a receipt from them, which can then be attached to your April filing to get the corresponding tax deduction. Not all groups or non-profit are qualified to receive tax-offsetting donations, you just have to ask. Otherwise, it's as simple as mailing or dropping that old phone in a collection box in your community.

Where to donate cell phones?

It's up to you - most of the mainstream non-profit organizations today have some kind of a cell phone collection program to help generate funds. If you're not sure where to make a used or old phone donation, here are some places you can go to:

Local groups. Look around, check posters or online community updates. Many of these groups are based in schools, churches, and social clubs. Are there kids from the nearby school going around collecting old phones door-to-door for their chosen cause or charity? Is your church conducting a fund drive to replace the old sound system? There are always many opportunities to donate and help locally.

Environmental non-profit. These are groups that are involved in environmental advocacy and conservation. Usually, the group will set aside a certain percentage of the proceeds from your cell phone donations to fund a specific environmental project - like gorilla conservation, coral reef protection, or rainforest-related projects.

Old cell phones for victims of domestic violence. Violence against women and children is the ugly underbelly of modern homes. Oftentimes, women and children who are victims of abuse in their own homes flee to protect themselves and seek help, with nothing but the clothes on their back. Organizations providing refuge to these victims are constantly in need of old cellular phones these people can use to contact other family members or seek legal help.

Cell phone for soldiers. Non-profits who are working with members of the military and their families are also in need of used cellular phone donations. Proceeds from the used phones they're able to collect and sell to recyclers are used to purchase mobile phone cards to help soldiers stationed overseas communicate with their loved ones back in the US.

Health advocacy. Non-profits working for health advocacy often provide support to the victims of catastrophic diseases like cancer, leukemia, etc. and their families. They also collect second-hand mobile phones to help fund their conntributions to research facilities that are working to find the cures for these diseases.

Children's organizations. These are non-profits involved in feeding, providing shelter and basic necessities, and educating children in needy communities here in the US and abroad. Organizations like "Feed The Children" are collecting used phones through their online partner, Pacebutler Corporation, to help fund their work on behalf of these disadvantaged children.

As you can see, there are a lot of groups out there that you can work with, to make a difference in the lives of others. whatever organization you choose to help today, you can be sure that your old cellular phones are put to good use. It's easy and you know that it's the right thing to do.

Donate cell phones to a charity or non-profit, today.