Cellular Telephones - With the frequent changes in the Cellular Telephone Industry, what is a resident to do with the large number of unwanted cellular telephones? Well in the Town of Colonie, residents have an excellent choice.

The Town is collecting usable and unusable cellular telephones and accessories through our Environmental Services Division for the benefit of Cell Phones For Soldiers.

The cell phones are recycled for cash and the proceeds are used to buy prepaid calling cards for our soldiers serving in the Middle East. Cell Phones For Soldiers a registered 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Their efforts have motivated people and businesses around the country to donate to this worthy cause. Their goal is to provide every US soldier with a way to call home for free.

It is estimated that Americans discard over 100 million cell phones each year and, unfortunately, a majority of these end up in landfills. These phones contain heavy metals that can be better managed through a reuse or recycling program than through a disposal program. With the number of cell phone users increasing each year, we see that the need to provide an option for cell phone users to manage these items in an environmentally prudent manner and to allow the beneficial reuse and/or recycle of these phones is very important.

There is a continuing need for additional cellular telephones for this program and we will be collecting old working and nonworking cellular and digital telephones under this program for the foreseeable future. Anyone wishing to donate their cellular telephone may bring it to the Division of Environmental Services facility located at the Town Landfill Site at 1319 Loudon Road, Cohoes, during regular hours of operation (Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00p.m. and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) and give it to the staff at the Residential Toll Booth. If you have any questions regarding the Cell Phones For Soldiers program, please contact the Division of Environmental Services.

We want to express our appreciation for all that have donated their cellular and digital telephones for this program. It is much better for the environment to eliminate the need to dispose of these materials as wastes and to reuse or recycle the telephones and your efforts truly are helping others.