What to do with Old Cell Phones

Somewhere in everyone's home is a junk drawer or junk box where you keep all the stuff you aren't willing to throw away just yet. These are things that you "might" just use some day. The last few years I've found a gaggle of old cell phones clutting up that junk drawer which got me thinking - "what can I do with an old cell phone?"

1. Trade it for a new phone: I actually did this once. I had a Windows Mobile based PDA that I didn't like, so I traded it for a Sanyo M1 on SprintUsers.com. They had a board for trades in the forum, and I saw someone wanted to trade for my PDA. He was only an hour away - it was an easy trade. Can you trade your used cell phone? Sure, try Craig's List, your local paper, or any of the classifieds sites online.

2. Sell it on eBay: Well, if you can't trade your phone, just sell it for cash and then buy what you want. eBay has a Cell Phones Selling Guide, just give it the once over and then list your phone.

3. Recycle your Used Cell Phone: With billions of cell phones across the world now, it makes sense that there are bunches of places springing up to help you recycle them. One patriotic way (in the US) is to donate it to Cell Phones for Soldiers. You can also donate at Charitable Recycling. If you want to start your own recycling program, you can visit ReCellular (which is the company that powers Cell Phones for Soldiers). Maybe you just need to recycle cell phone batteries, or get rid of your non-working cell phone for scrap. In addition the United States EPA has a list of sites to donate or recyle computers and electronics.