April has been declared to be cell phone recycling month by e-cycle, a buyback and old cellular phone recycling company in the United States. To tie in with “Earth Day”, which is held on the twenty second of this month, the company has decided to use the whole of the month of April to raise awareness of the problems caused by electrical waste such as used cell phones, and the fact that there is an alternative, namely recycling.

HTC is beginning its annual collection drive to recycle all the old phone books from 2010, as well as any old cell phones that those in the community wish to donate. HTC, which is based in Conway in the United States, and everyone who is involved in the community effort, will end up benefitting from the scheme. Local schools, for instance, which serve as the primary drop-off point for the old phone books and used cell phones, will get the opportunity to spend up to two and a half thousand US dollars on technology, while the overall area’s school system will also receive cash to enable them to help homeless students.

A cell phone that refuses to operate while a motor vehicle is in operation could be the answer to the fight against distracted driving, according to a state lawmaker of Rhode Island in the United States. Rep Charlene Lima, D-Cranston, wants the device, which is available from several manufacturers, to be installed in the vehicles of anyone who has been caught using their cell phones while driving. It involves the installation of software on the cell phone that can detect when an engine is in use and will then refuse to make calls or allow texting until the engine has been switched off

Advocates of recycling in Illinois in the United States say that the law is not doing enough to force manufacturers to get with the program when it comes to the recycling of electronic goods, including old cell phones. While the state passed a law during 2010 that forces them to recycle their electronic goods, including used cell phones, those companies have fallen well short of the target amount and have been ‘rewarded’ by having the target lowered for this year.

Clark Gardens Botanical Park in Texas in the United States recently came up with a novel way to try to entice people into cell phone recycling. Every time someone donates an old cellular phone, they will be given a tree sapling. The idea, which was used for a limited time only at a festival, which was held over the weekend, saw forty-eight old cell phones being donated for recycling, with tree saplings of such species as Bur Oak, Chinkapin Oak, Green Ash and Shumard Oak (all Texas natives) given to those that participated. There are still a few tree saplings left and the program will continue for a brief period until they are all gone.

Sick of the battery going dead in your cell phone? Worried by the environmental impact of batteries? Both concerns could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a radical device that uses nanotechnology to allow you to power your cell phone and other electrical devices with your own body. The Georgia Institute of Technology has come up with a way to charge up cell phones with a flick of your own finger.

Boone County High School in Cincinnati in the United States is getting on the idea to recycle cell phones in order to save the gorillas. To this end, the high school has joined forces with Cincinnati Zoo to run the program to recycle old cell phones, which has been given the name of Eco-Cell.

Dr Devra Davis is a visiting fellow at Harvard University and a leading scientist on the dangers of cell phones. The scientist believes that cell phone radiation is in fact far more dangerous than most people believe, although in many cases the danger is increased by the fact that that ignorance prevents people from taking the precautions that could reduce the risk considerably.