EPA promotes cell phone recycling

Washington -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has teamed up with cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers to promote cell phone recycling.

Partners in the EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program for cell phones include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile. The old phones can be dropped off at retail stores or mailed back to the manufacturers.

The agency said an estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, with many languishing in storage.

"Recycling a cell phone offers an opportunity for everyone to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and conserve natural resources," the EPA said Tuesday in a release. "If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year."

Reusing those 100 million cell phones would save enough energy to power more than 370,000 U.S. homes each year, the EPA added.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.