Cell Phone Recycling Have you ever thought about what you should do with old, outdated, or broken cell phones? Many of the components inside a cell phone are very toxic substances, some of which have been associated with cancer and a range of reproductive, neurological, and developmental disorders. Should these items be simply thrown away just to end up in our landfills, harming the environment and our health? Definitely not. Recycle your old cell phones with the Benzie Conservation District. Here are some other reasons to participate: On average, Americans replace their cell phones every 12 months. Over 65 million cellular phones are stockpiled in U.S. households creating 30,000 tons of potentially hazardous waste. An estimated 130 million cell phones are being discarded annually in the U.S. alone as of 2005. Cell phones contain arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. These materials leach into our groundwater or, if incinerated, form highly toxic dioxins and furans. The cadmium from a single cell phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water. So why not recycle your old cell phones? Whether or not they work, even if they're broken, we'll take them. All phones are sent to a national recycling company where the phones are either refurbished and sold or scrapped and recycled according to U.S. EPA standards. We encourage you to drop off any old cell phone batteries you have lying around, too. These are potentially even more toxic than the phones themselves. Other phone accessories are typically non-toxic and should be disposed of in your regular trash. Thank you for supporting the Benzie Conservation District by recycling your used ink jet and toner cartridges. Items can be dropped off at collection boxes at our office in downtown Beulah and at the MSU Extension office. Proceeds from this program help support the operation and administration of our many projects and services to the community. If you have a business that would like to support our recycling program by serving as an item drop-off location, please Email our Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Kyle Axtell, or call him at (231) 882-4391.