What happens to a cellphone tossed? That’s a question “The Secret Life of Cell Phones” answers (below). This short educational film shows what happens when you throw a phone into a black bin — as well as what happens when you take just a few minutes to make sure your phone gets refurbished or recycled.

Cell Phone Recycling

Donate Your Cell Phones or Start a Donation Program

One in three Americans will replace their cell phones this year, adding to the 500 million unused phones currently waiting to be discarded or recycled. Cell phone recycling and wireless recycling programs keep valuable materials out of landfills, including an estimated $630,000 of precious metals from circuit boards, and enough copper from phone chargers to recover the Statue of Liberty, twice.

Apparently, throwing away your cellphone isn’t just environmentally hazardous, it’s downright wasteful. ReCellular, an electronics stability firm, is working on a going green campaign in anticipation of Earth Day. Hundreds of millions of used cell phones are taken out of service each year around the world as new innovations reach the marketplace. Worldwide, humans discard 40,000 cellphone a day, meaning 150 million per year. These cellphones are said to contain $94 million in precious metals. One in three Americans will replace their cell phones this year, adding to the 500 million unused phones currently waiting to be discarded or recycled.

Cell phone recycling and wireless recycling programs keep valuable materials out of landfills, including an estimated $630,000 of precious metals from circuit boards, and enough copper from phone chargers to recover the Statue of Liberty, twice.

They’re also offering five reasons to recycle your phone.

1. They likely still work. More than half of the phones ReCellular receives are still functional, and can be refurbished and reused - often in developing countries. The United Nations ranks access to communications as the second-most important contributor to quality of life, after health-care.

2. They contain valuable materials. Recycling cell phone circuit boards yields more gold per ton than the average ton of ore from gold mine operations, as well as other precious metals such as silver, platinum and palladium.

3. They can be environmentally damaging. Like all rechargeable batteries, cell phones contain heavy metals and chemicals that can be toxic in landfills, and should always be recycled.

4. They are of value. ReCellular offers businesses up to $150 per phone, and their charitable donate-a-phone programs raised more than $8 million per year for non-profit organizations.

5. They’re serving no purpose in the drawer. Really, what are you keeping those cell phones for? Send them in.

If after this you’re compelled to recycle your old phone, hit these guys up at ReCellular.com. Or feel free to check out www.CellPhonesForCash.com, they offer and provide responsible recycling and redistribution programs that not only keep cell phones from entering our landfills, but puts cash back into the pockets of those who have purchased or collected them.

This post was taken from Prepaidreviews.com - a top source of information on prepaid cell phones.