Recycling Old Cell Phones?

TK-421 asks: "With the holidays coming up, I think I've read of organizations that take used cellphones and recycle them for use with battered women and other organizations. Does anyone know of the URLs of these places so I can mail out old cellphones I have so they can be put to good use?" Awesome idea! I've got two old phones that I've been wondering what to do with and this is better than tossing them in the trash. What organizations are willing to accept cell phones as donations?

here a URL for ya

[XneznJuber]

WCCO in Minneapolis/St Paul has a story on a Minn Charity that does that
Here's the link [channel4000.com] that has the story below:

The Minnesota Wireless Foundation is joining a statewide effort to collect used cellular telephones for the victims of domestic violence. The wireless service providers hope to collect 2,000 used cell phones by the end of the year. The phones will be donated to "Call to Protect," and reprogrammed to dial local emergency services and domestic-violence hot lines using airtime donated by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. The phones collected this year will be activated by early 2001 and distributed to violence-prevention organizations. Collection boxes have been placed in more than 30 retail stores around the metro area to collect the phones.

URL for program in NJ

[abhinavnath]

Here [somerset.nj.us] is a URL for a similiar program in NJ, distributing cell-phones to schools for emergency use

the shack

[AoT]

Radio shack will normally take old cell phone bateries. at least they did when i worked there.

Re:URL for program in NJ

[abhinavnath]

There is also donateaphone.com [donateaphone.com]. In case the link is /.ed, here is some more info off of a message board:

During the month of October, Radio Shack is accepting donations. Or, you can mail your old cell phone, any time, directly to Call to Protect c/o Motorola Dept. P 1580 E. Ellsworth Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Old cell phones

[EBunkB]

At a Thanksgiving Dinner with my extended family, my brilliant uncle from California informed all of us that we should never throw out unused cell phones because whether they are activated or not, they can always be used to place 911 calls. He's often coming up with these tidbits and has always been right in the past, so I believe it. He said it was federal law and suggested donating them to old or disabled people for that use. We did not talk about specific organizations that would take the donations.

Call to Protect URL

[SEWilco]

Call to Protect [wirelessfoundation.org] has a page (calltoprotect.org points there also).

Useful?

[TheTomcat]

My phone cost me $25. It's fine, and has most of the features I want. Airtime costs me ~$40/month.

I'm thinking that people who can't afford phones can't afford airtime.. am I missing something?

If you live in New York City...

[3waygeek]

you can take your old cell phone (with charger, please) to your nearest fire station. They'll see that it gets a good home. I discovered this program when I was in Manhattan on a contract gig back in May/June, so it may or may not still be in effect.

Re:Useful?

[acoopersmith]

At least in the US, cell phone companies are
required to let calls to 911 go through, even
if the phone isn't under contract. That's why
many of the recycling programs give them to people like domestic violence victims, so they can call the police if they're under attack, not to chat while driving down the freeway.

Not a URL but...

[FSK]

If you want to donate a phone locally, you might want to call your local police department.

Huh?

[cr0sh]

This is crazy - why are there "old" cell phones that have to be thrown away? I can understand an analog vs. digital phone (hard to get analog service anywhere it seems - only one company here in Phoenix offers it, and only via calling cards - kinda makes my $10 Motorola brick phone worthless - I love that phone!) - but regular digital cell phones becoming worthless?

I have heard (is this rumor?) that if you complete your service contract, and try to go to another provider with a "branded" phone (ie, you have an AT&T cell phone, and you try to use Verizon), the phone becomes "worthless" - and thus you have to get yet another "free" phone! What kind of scam is this?

I can still take my grandma's old clunky pulse-only phone from the 50s and still dial out on it in most areas - why don't we have the equivalent for cell phones?

Actually, why do we have this forced obsolescence, period (I want analog service, damnit)? More importantly - why do we stand for it? It isn't just cell phones, but everything - nearly everything has to be bought "new" again in order to use it (hell, even our entertainment works this way - records->tapes->cds->RSN - audio DVDs). Rarely is it worth the "upgrade".

If cars were like this (and I am sure they are going to go that way some day), people would be screaming bloody murder - so why do we take it for everything else?

Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!

Re:older, hackable cell phones

[unitron]

Is there a way to hack these into something other than illegal cell phones, like walkie talkies, intercom units, remote controls, etc.?

Sure, you could save the phone, but why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wireless Foundation [wirelessfoundation.org] (AFAIK) is the first and largest network of donation acceptance sites -- they have a presence in almost, if not every, state, and you can see a list here [wirelessfoundation.org]. Or just mail the thing in -- paying $2 in shipping to help someone in need or to keep someone from being abused is the least all of us can do. From the page looks, I believe all Radio Shack stores accept them on behalf of their foundation. You can even get a receipt, as it's tax deductable.

As for service, the FAQ on their site answers this one: "All CALL to PROTECT phones are pre-programmed to dial 911 and usually one or two non-emergency numbers like a domestic violence shelter. Free emergency airtime is donated by members of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA)."

If there's no local collection spot in your area - great - start your own. There are a lot of spare phones out there, and this is a really great cause that we can help out with almost no cost ourselves.

Shops in Sweden...

[ayjay29]

I am living in Sweden where they have always been very environmentally conscious.

Every phone shop has a bin where you can leave your old phones, batteries and other equipment and they will be re-cycled and disposed of properly. I know the batteries contain harmful chemicals and should not be tossed in the trash. The plastics can be re-cycled, as can other parts of the phone.

For the 99.8% of the world population who don't live in Sweden, you may find this service at phone shops, or you could hassle them to provide such a service.

Re:Huh?

[B1]

I have heard (is this rumor?) that if you complete your service contract, and try to go to another provider with a "branded" phone (ie, you have an AT&T cell phone, and you try to use Verizon), the phone becomes "worthless" - and thus you have to get yet another "free" phone! What kind of scam is this?

It's because we in North America are blessed with two dominant (and mutually incompatibile) digital standards--CDMA and TDMA. CDMA phones won't work with TDMA networks (and vice versa). If you switch networks, you'll probably have to switch phones as well, because of this incompatibility.

If you have an old analog phone, it *should* work with a TDMA provider such as AT&T (afaik), since the TDMA digital standard was designed to be backwards-compatible with analog phones. I can't speak for CDMA providers, but I would imagine they'll also support analog mode.

Be Careful

[jon_adair]

Disclaimer: These organizations sound like a great service and I don't want to discourage anyone from donating to them.

I had an old cell phone. I closed the account (with GTE) and at least 6 months later I was out of town and happened to have the phone with me. I thought I would give it a whirl and see what service it could find. I got a menu of choices where I could even place a credit or calling card call. "Neat," I thought and shut off the phone without even placing a real call.

About a month later I get a bill from GTE for the airtime of listening to the voice menus, plus roaming charges. I called them and explained that I no longer had an account with them and did not expect that phone to receive any service nor to receive any bills related to that phone. They dropped the bill.

So what would have happened if I tossed the phone in the trash, sold it, or donated it to some organization? Could GTE still be trying to bill me even though I don't have an account?

Re:Be Careful

[Wog]

Perhaps cell phones should be reguarded in the same way as credit cards are. Namely, if you aren't going to give your phone to a charitable organisation (who I figure would be responsible), destroy it. (Great web page photo oppourtunity?)

In any case, I was not aware of the 911 from discontinued phones tip. It's a very nice thing to know.

Re:Useful?

[nanun]

Yes, you are missing something. (At least in the U.S.) cell phones, even if they are not activated, can place emergency (911) calls. This is helpful for folks who might only need emergency phone service.