With the iPhone debut tomorrow, lots of folks should be wondering what to do with their soon-to-be-obsolete Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, you name it cell phones.

Of course, the correct answer is: recycle them!

According to CollectiveGood, one of two cell phone recycling services I'm aware of:

As of 2007, there are more than 750 million mobile phones waiting to be recycled in the US; either in drawers, or already in the waste stream. Another 150+ million or so will be added this year and even more next year. Once in the waste stream, these devices may leak Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic and other toxic substances into the water supply. Municipalities often incinerate their waste, instantly putting these toxic elements into the air, and they return to earth in rain water. Since life on Earth depends on water, the threat is clear.

CollectiveGood creates financially productive partnerships with charities and companies to ensure that the benefits of mobile phones are maximized, and their environmental impact is minimized. We pioneered the concept of providing marketing, operations and logistics support to charities and the private sector to create innovative used mobile phone collection campaigns that are successful in every community. 

By reusing these phones, the greatest possible value is perpetuated from these devices; consumers are offered a socially and environmentally responsible means of disposing of their old mobile phones, charities generate newfound funds to further their missions, and we all take steps to bridge the digital divide by providing affordable modern communications to citizens in the developing world. Our low-cost, refurbished mobile phones are usually used to provide affordable wireless service throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, Eastern Europe and India.

Want to get started? It's easy, just start the donation process by designating a charity you want to benefit from your donation.

The other service is call2recycle, and they'll recycle almost all your portable rechargeable batteries as well. In fact, they work in partnership with the CollectiveGood to help them dispose of any non-functioning mobile phone batteries they collect.

So, if you've been overcome by iPhone lust, please recycle your old cell phone through one of these two programs.

Carbon Neutral Journal's tips are brought to you by Nuts & Bolts.

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