Schools are not exactly known for encouraging students to bring their cell phones to class, but that may be about to change if a new scheme in the United States takes off. The Coweta County Board of Education is looking over a new proposal that allows students to use their cell phones in schools under supervision, for the simple reason that the technology allows for a lot more than just making calls unlike old cell phones just ten years ago.

Newport Computers in Rochester in the United States is staging an event designed to allow people to hand in their old cell phones and other electrical items to be recycled in honor of the upcoming annual Earth Day. Items such as used cell phones, computers, video games, digital cameras and MP3 players, which would normally cost around ten dollars to dispose of at the local landfill, can be handed in for recycling free of charge from ten o’clock in the morning on Wednesday up until four o’clock in the afternoon on Friday.

Leading names in the electronics industry have joined forces to launch a unique recycling initiative for electrical items, including old cell phones. Panasonic became the latest big name company to join the initiative, which aims to have reached a goal of recycling more than a billion pounds worth of electrical equipment per year, including used cell phones, by the year 2016, a number that would be more than three times the figure recorded for such recycling as of 2010.

Visitors to the Topeka Zoo can party for the planet by bringing in their old cell phones for recycling this weekend. This Saturday, the Zoo is staging its annual “Party for the Planet” event, which is the biggest combined Earth Day celebration in the whole world, with over 120 of the most rated aquariums and zoos throughout North America joining forces for the celebration. The “Party for the Planet” event is designed to celebrate wildlife and encourage visitors to the zoo to learn more about the natural environment and conservation.

Kalianna is a not for profit organization in the Murray Basin region of South Australia, and is devoted to helping disabled people. Kalianna also offers an electronic recycling program intended to give new life to old cell phones, as well as other electrical items such as computers, photocopiers and televisions.