“We're very excited about our work with RIPMobile on this program,” said Delly Tamer, CEO of LetsTalk.com. “With the number of cell phone users in the U.S. pushing well past 200 million and many of those users upgrading their phones every year or two, the stakes have never been higher; we need to do everything in our power to reduce the environmental impact from all those unused cell phones.”

Through its partnership with RIPMobile, LetsTalk will offer consumers LetsTalk Gift Certificates for sending in working, unused cell phones. For phones that are no longer working, RIPMobile will recycle the cell phones, eliminating environmentally harmful toxins that are released when a phone is disposed of incorrectly. Working cell phones will be refurbished and resold by RIPMobile to customers all over the world, including many who would otherwise be unable to afford cell phones.

The process is simple: by visiting www.LetsTalk.com/recycled_phones/index.htm?to=555609, you can find the manufacturer and model of your current cell phone. The site will immediately calculate how much your working phone can earn you in LetsTalk Rewards (credit on LetsTalk.com for future cell phones and accessories).

By using a free downloadable postage paid mailing label, you simply ship your cell phone to RIPMobile. After they have confirmed that your phone is working (no service is needed), LetsTalk will generate a gift certificate. If the handset isn't in working order, RIPMobile will recycle the cell phone free of charge, protecting the environment from its toxic components.

Environment Impact of Cell Phones
According to RIPMobile, currently there are 700 million mobile phones weighing a combined 350,000 tons waiting to be recycled in the US, either sitting at home or already in the waste stream. Each year at least 130 million phones are added to the waste stream – leaking severely toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic into our water supply. Many municipalities also incinerate their waste, which vaporizes these toxic elements into the air we breathe and the rainwater we depend on.

“Our partnership with LetsTalk goes a long way towards the safe disposal of old cell phones, while giving consumers something valuable in return,” said Seth Heine, founder and CEO of RIPMobile. “Not only does our partnership with LetsTalk keep all of this toxic waste out of the landfills, but RIPMobile's world-class reclamation process captures 17 types of metals, including gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead and mercury. We make these reclaimed metals available for reuse in things such as consumer electronics and jewelry – reducing the need for more strip mining to generate these metals in the first place.”

LetsTalk.com - the smarter way to buy a cell phone

LetsTalk is a leading online retailer of cell phones, wireless devices and service plans. LetsTalk helps consumers research, compare and purchase cell phones and service plans in a user-friendly environment free from bias and sales pressure. LetsTalk is based in San Francisco and was founded in July of 1999.