I am surprised at how much copper, silver, gold and palladium can be extracted from cellphones. I am also disturbed at the heavy metals that can seep into ground water or have probably already have.

I suppose we're lucky that we actually have an ecycling plant here (sometimes I think we're stone age, recycling-wise) but they're across the city, stuck in a suburb on an obscure road, and they keep bankers' hours! I have a growing pile of things we've destroyed (can't refurbish, unfortunately!) and I'd like to get them there.

My life is much so better without all the new phones and e-products. Much higher quality of life. Consider recycling your e-smog and enjoy life while you can.

The most surprising revelation to me is that the average smart phone lifespan in the U.S. is less than 2 years!! I just got my first smartphone as a gift from my daughter a year and a half ago--she did not want it anymore because it was too cheaply made. I was working for a communications company and my supervisor refused to give me a working tablet charger so I was forced to use my cell phone charger. Now my cell phone does not recognize its own charger so it takes FOREVER to charge. I thought that was because it was a crappy cell phone or I used it for the other device--but it was only 6 months old at the time! I wish I could have gotten 21 months out of mine. It really only worked with its charger 6 months. I think if we have such a problem with recycling everything, companies should be forced to make better long lasting products.

What surprises me most is the amount.