Reduce, reuse, return

7/20/2009 10:02 AM EDT

People are switching the cell phones more often today. In the past, prices and contracts had made it difficult for a person to decide to change their cell phone for a newer model, but with the quick changing in technology, a newer, better cell phone with must have features can be in the market only months after you made your purchase.

Take the iPhone for example. You had to have the original iPhone when it first came out and waited in line to get it. A year later a 3G version was released, and since you are in a 3G area you upgraded. And now the 3G S model is available, and with the faster processor you figured you should keep up with the times and pick up that one as well.

In some cases you can upgrade your phone by returning the old one and paying some fee to get the newer one. But that is not always the case. For me, I had a cheap Motorola phone that worked fine for a few years, and then had to get a BlackBerry for work. I was not using my cell phone much and my company does not mind if I make the occasional personal call on my work phone, so there was no need for me to pay the monthly bills on my Motorola phone.

I do not want to simply throw the phone out, so right now it is sitting in a box with other obsolete gadgets that I have. A Samsung MP3 player from 2001. A GameBoy SP (upgraded to the DS). An 802.11b router.

Where do I go to get rid of these things? There are a number of options. For the cell phone, most service providers offer a way to return obsolete phones.

Some big box stores take obsolete electronics as well, including batteries, ink cartridges, and portable electronics. At certain times they even take old TVs (and give you a credit towards a new one).

So don't forget to dispose of your gadgets in a safe and environmentally friendly way!