very cool article

i didnt even know this place existed in Michigan?
its about 25 miles from my house

i also read somewhere that Japan is the biggest recycler of cellphones and electronics for precious metals (sense they have barely any natural resources)

SlimDan22

Hah look at all those Razrs.

takashimiike Ultimate

I didn't see any phones I have or used to have, either I am blind or my phones aren't actually that old.

Emiat

wow...there will be so many iphone 3gs after the third generation comes out next year.

mricyfire

someone that has an iphone.

MacAddict21

Who throws away a BlackBerry Curve!!!?

mastermatoro

I saw one of my former LG's on there... Go figure the thing was a piece of crap...

Avizzv92

I can see my old Kyocera Palm!!!!

LOL

great article.

Faslane66

this is when the man downloads all the conversations and texts you have ever made on your phone to the NSA supercomputer

damnElantra

It's amazing...I gave up on cell phones after my fiasco with Verizon...you know what...I don't miss the damn things. Maybe when customer service has changed amongst the services I will go back, but I am in no hurry. Here is a secret...cell phones are electronic leashes...either your boss wants something now, or your wife/significant other want's something.

sguth925m

@damnElantra: That's some scary shit..

takashimiike Ultimate

No silicon heaven? Where would all the calculators go?

JStrulleh

@sguth925m: I'm guessing you're one of those people who loves to generalize. My life has been nothing but easier since I started using cell phones because I can keep in touch with the people I love and want to talk to. In fact, having a cell phone has allowed me the opportunity to patch things up with people I previously had broken ties with because I was able to call them instead of traveling far distances to see them. Maybe none of that interests you, but cell phones definitely don't keep you in a horrible position unless you have put yourself there.

Desmondia

@damnElantra:

Did you mean "the MAN" as in G-man, cause she looks like a woman?

Kingteddybear

Looks like a bunch of fish.

doug316

and this are the lucky ones, the rest end up leaking acid or other chemicals to the landfills everywhere else in the world.

dysthymia

They go the lake of fire.

Fire and a-fry.

aaj111

@Desmondia: Um.. You realize that we had landlines before cellphones... right? And we still do.
In fact, I've probably stopped calling people without a specific purpose like I used to, because you never know if the person you are calling is busy with other things, such as driving or at work or something.

bjarnia

@mastermatoro: Where's the curve?!

ipodrulz

It's interesting that many people call them cell phones yet all of the companies that sell them along with the airtime companies, call them mobile phones.

Why is that?

pobox90210

GIVE ME A NEW PHONE!!!

pobox90210

I kind of miss not having to walk around with a phone. And the paranoia of getting a missed call or text. And just enjoying the day without and distractions.

thats just me though, the minority.

theboyfrombrasil

@pobox90210: I was thinking the same thing today. they also say wireless phone but im not sure why. I think it has to do with the technology road map. now tmobile use VoIP as part of the option, for example.

dysthymia

At least they are being recycled.

I never heard of anyone buying a refurbished cell phone. Overseas?

ljj

@theboyfrombrasil:

Just turn it off. I own the phone ,not the other way around

Cacher

Initial reaction to second picture on page 5: "That's a huge cardboard box."

rabiddachshund

I see my old LG in the box marked "obsolete scrap". I can't beleive a company would sell such a crappy phone, I'll probably never buy an LG again.

enine

Sometimes I get these plastic bags with prepaid postage from [www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com] sometimes and I've already sent back a couple of my old cellphones.

It's funny to see how many people put stickers on their phones. I do that too.

RE-L

@Kingteddybear: Whoa whoa whoa! Don't be sexist! A woman can be a "the man" just as well as any man can be.

Is that a brick of gold that person is holding?!

hagrun

Correction: Motorola StarTAC, not StarTrac
[en.wikipedia.org]

Rain-man

@hagrun: "Workers sample the alloy to determine the percentage of precious metals. Sims sells these metal-alloy bars to other companies, which separate and purify the metals. Mark Glavin, a Sims vice president, says that the facility can recover 80 ounces of silver, eight ounces of gold, and three ounces of palladium from a ton of cell phones. That's about $1 of metal per phone. "

check out the link plenty more pics.

yungjerry703

Kyocera phantom kx414, nokia 2285, lg vx 6100...

Reminds me of the glory days... you know, high school football and bulletproof handsets?

*tear*

Daytodaz3

I saw my old cell phone in there. It's a Nokia of some sort, I forget the model number. It's inbetween two purple phones (on the left) of th epicture swith the person taking a battery out of a phone.

It was a decent phone for when I got it (2002), but is freaking awful by today's standards.

falandil

@hagrun:
@yungjerry703: Yes, 'dare's gold in 'dem 'dare cell phones.

unspellable

Yes, technology today has changed the perception of every individual. I remember my first basic phone -- though I can't dump that phone, but now I am using a new 3G phone. I also write technology blogs. Plz visit my site at: [technobirdlive.com]

technobirdlive

@mastermatoro: How can you see that in the mess of the flip & brick phones?

And I would throw that thing away in an instant after seeing the iPhone 3G! Well, I would suppose it would be determined by coverage in the (INSERT YOUR REGION HERE), and plan prices.

Hackintosh

I had a Motorola StarTac! It was my first cellphone. Oh the memories. And now it's (literally) a brick. Funny.
<3

jennyfur