How to dispose of those old cell phones and other such devices in an environmentally responsible manner is a recurring topic here. Recycling services do exist, but they may be hard to find. That should be less of a problem now. Call2Recycle, a non-profit program started last year by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, has a database of locations in the US and Canada accepting old rechargeable batteries and cell phones for recycling. Batteries are recycled for their metals -- nickel and iron to make stainless steel, and cadmium to make more batteries -- while cell phones are either refurbished and resold in the developing world or recycled in an unspecified "environmentally friendly" way.

The whole "people in the developing world would love your old phone" meme is probably on its way out, especially as phone makers move towards low-cost modern phones specifically for low-income countries; we will need to see more groups focusing on actually recycling phone components. But even if you're not about to toss that old phone, the database of rechargeable battery drop-off spots will be useful. Looks like I have one just around the corner...

(Via So What Can I Do?)