I have a confession: I still have my old Samsung A670. (I also have an old Sammy A970 and a Motorola StarTac, as well as other phones and accessories. I’m thinking of starting an old cell tech museum in my apartment.)

The urge to purge clearly holds no sway in my home. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. According to iamgreen, cell phones are responsible for an enormous amount of waste and an eye-popping cumulative impact on the environment. To get the message across, it put together an infographic outlining a few crazy stats:

• 61 percent of the world’s 6.7 billion have cell phone subscriptions

• The average user gets rid of his or her phone within a year of getting it

• A typical phone uses the energy equivalent of 32 gallons of gas and emits 112kg of CO2 in a year of use

• 140 million cell phones wind up in landfills each year, leeching 80,000 pounds of lead into the earth (and disposing of $56 million worth of gold as well)

I can’t vouch for these statistics, but even if just one of them is true, it’s still a startling picture of today’s cellular lifestyle. As far as my own hoarding of phones is concerned, I would do better donating the ones that still function (if anyone’s willing to use them). At least they can spare someone a little expense, and save the resources required to manufacture and transport new ones. It may not be much, but at least it’s a start.

[via Yahoo! Tech]



For those interested, the full infographic follows.