In researching an alternative, I found YouRenew to be a good alternative. An advantage to YouRenew is that they also accept most other electronics including MP3 players, gaming devices, digital cameras, laptops and more.

Did you know that an estimated 130 million, or roughly 65,000 tons, of cell phones are retired every year in the United States?

This creates a major problem with wireless phone disposal since just throwing them into the trash creates hazardous e-waste, or hazardous electronic waste.

Wireless phones contain toxic materials such as lead and cadmium which are hazardous to our soil and water supply if just disposed into landfills. In addition to toxic metals, wireless phones contain plastic; precious metals; glass; and other materials.

So what do you do with your old cell phones?

Well first, don’t just throw them in the trash!

For several years, I’ve used a cell phone recycling company called Cell For Cash. They recycle used cell phones certifying they won’t end up in a landfill, causing damage to our water supply and environment. They recondition these phones and resell them in other markets, or recycle the parts through companies that specialize in recycling or re-using industrial by-products or materials that contain precious metals, like cell phones.

The interesting part about Cell For Cash is that they’ll pay you to recycle your old cell phone. The process is straightforward, just visit the CellforCash web site, find your cell phone make and model, and the site will indicate how much they’ll pay for it. If your model is not listed, or too old (normally older than 2 years), they have other sources where you can drop off or mail your cell phone at no cost.

Personally, I’ve recycled dozens of cell phones with Cell For Cash that I had lying around or found from friends or family. It’s good to know I can put these phones to good use or know that they’ve been recycled and not dumped in my local landfill poisoning our environment.

Keep it green!

In recent years, with the increased levels of mercury found in foods and in our environment, health care officials have been associating the effects of mercury poisoning to not only neurological disorders, but to other diseases as well.

Most recently, officials have identified cardiovascular diseases more often in patients with abnormal mercury levels. Specifically, researchers have reviewed past studies and recognized that patients with heart problems had 15% higher mercury levels than normal.

This is no surprise since mercury is a lethal toxic poison that has been getting into our bodies more in the recent past. It mainly affects the central nervous systems and now, as new research shows, the cardiovascular system as well. Mercury poisoning in children can lead to significant health problems.

Mercury is most often found in tuna and other seafood, although it can also be found in the emissions from burning coal, dental cavities, paints, cosmetics and pharmaceutical drugs. And lately, mercury has been found in unsafe levels in more fish, more often.

It’s also found in batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and explosives. Allowing these items to be disposed into our environment in land fills leaves us open to exposure.

Currently, no government agency or body regularly tests food for mercury poisoning.

The best way to reduce mercury poisoning is to limit consumption of tuna and other fish with mercury levels of any kind (which today is often most), replace the use of fluorescent light bulbs with LED light bulbs and dispose of light bulbs responsibly through organizations like LightBulbRecycling.com.

Eating a diet free of animal foods almost completely eliminates most metal poisonings, bacterial infections (like e. coli) and other health problems caused by animal foods including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and more. In fact, one of the best things you can do for yourself and the environment is to eliminate animal foods from your diet.

The standard method of removing mercury from your system is chelation therapy a method of ingesting a chelating agent into your body that attracts the mercury and pulls in out of your system. The chelating agent is most often administered intravenously or orally, depending on the agent.

Live green, live happy!