The Greenest Cell Phones

If you're in the market for a new cell phone, consider one of these "green" models that were featured at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Motorola's MOTO W233 Renew

Cost: $9.99 with a two-year contract; buy through T-Mobile.
Motorola's MOTO W233 Renew is constructed of plastic made from recycled water bottles and can be completely recycled. It comes in packaging made of 100% recycled paper and includes a prepaid shipping envelope so you can easily recycle your old mobile phone. PLUS: Motorola pays to offset the carbon emissions created during manufacture and distribution, along with the first two years you use it. (Its carbon offset payments are going to support methane gas capture at a landfill in New Bedford, MA).

Sony Ericsson GreenHeart

Cost: Not yet on the market
Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart is made with recycled biodegradable components and the charger uses a fraction of the electricity common chargers draw. NOTE: Sony Ericsson stood out in the 2008 Greenpeace Electronics Guide for banning hazardous chemicals in its products since the beginning of the year. In particular, the company's T650i mobile phone and Pli PDA came out on top in Greenpeace’s Searching for Greener Electronics survey.

ZTE/ Digicel solar phone

Cost: Not yet on the market
ZTE, a Chinese manufacturer, and Digicel, a Latin American service provider, have teamed up behind what they say is the first solar-powered mobile phone. This is still in design, but when it's on the market, it's expected to appeal particularly to the 2 billion people in the world who have limited or no access to steady electricity supplies.

Nokia 5630 Xpress Music Phone

Cost: $300 - $500
Nokia released the 5630 Xpress Music Phone, along with a preloaded application called "we:offset" so users can measure their carbon emissions. Want to pay for the pollution you create? The company provides a link to an easy online form just for that purpose.

Though I welcome these product developments, I hope they don't encourage any of you to shelve a perfectly good phone if you don't have to. We're adding more e-waste to trash than any other form of garbage. The longer we use the phones we have, the less electronic garbage we'll have to clean up in the not-so-distant future.