When a new cell phone starts to be sold in stories, many people rush out to buy one. We all want the newest, latest thing. But what should we do with our old cell phones?
Mike Townsend works at Total Recall, a cell phone recycling company. "Don't throw your old phone away. Send it to us and we'll recycle it," he says. "If you throw it away, it'll go with other rubbish to become landfill. In other words, it is put in a big hole in the ground—and it becomes a big problem."
Cell phones contain some toxic materials (有毒物质), like lead, mercury and cadmium. If your phone goes to a landfill, these toxic materials can get out and get into the water under the ground. That's the water we want to drink or the water that goes into rivers or the ocean. Millions of cell phones are thrown away every year.
"At Total Recall we take the old phones apart. Most of the materials in a cell phone can be recycled and used again," explains Mike. "We sell the parts and they are used to make new products. For example, phone batteries contain nickel and cadmium. The nickel is used to make steel, and the cadmium can be used to make new batteries. The plastic cases of the phones are made into plastic fence posts."
Mike says recycling your old phone is easy. "You can usually take it into a cell phone shop and they'll send it to us." So, before you throw your old cell phone away, use it one last time: search for a cell phone recycling company near you and give them a call.
