What to Do with Your Old Cell Phone

How often do you buy a new cellphone? With the latest options to choose from (Smart Phones, iPhones, Blackberries, Treos, and more), 18 months with the same cell begins to feel like a long-term relationship. But when you fall in love with your new phone, what do you do with the old one? Cast it off like a spurned lover? Or tuck it away like a memory you can’t let go of, but don’t quite want to revisit?

Part 4: Safety Tips for Battery Recycling

Collecting batteries for recycling doesn’t mean just dumping them together into a box or a pail. Careless handling of batteries — spent or not — can lead to disastrous consequences. As you gather household batteries for recycling, follow these simple steps.

Part 3: Finding a Battery Recycler

Finding a battery recycling center sometimes feels like looking for Waldo in a crowd wearing red-and-white striped sweaters. In most cities and towns, there are recycling centers that accept almost everything. But battery recyclers are elusive.

Part 2: The Inside Scoop on Batteries

Batteries are kind of mystifying to me. My flashlight does nothing until I put a battery inside. Then, suddenly, there’s light. The same is true of my digital camera. No battery, no picture. And my watch? Without a battery, time stands still. The magic doesn’t happen until I put in just the right battery in just the right way. But how? What allows a battery to give “life” to inanimate objects?

Part 1: Much Ado about Batteries

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans use billions of batteries every year. That’s Billions, with a B. We buy them, use them, and throw them away. Buy, use, throw. Buy, use, throw… Sounds like a bad habit.

Resist the Deceptive Lure of Poly Bags

Poly bags instead of plastic? “No way!” says Joan Burns, manager of Cart by Cart, which produces canvas shopping bags. The ubiquitous polypropylene bags sell for only a dollar or two, and sometimes stores even give them away. They’re supposed to be “good” for the environment.

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