Apple + In-Store Recycling + Old Cell Phone = FAIL

With the recent move coming up, I have been trying to clear the house of old and unneeded things - including one Motorola RAZR and a very old Nokia 3560.

As a pretty happy owner of a iPhone 3G, I don't see the use in keeping them around.

I'm not a total hater of the environment, so I figured I would attempt to recycle them at the very least...as opposed to just breaking them with a hammer and throwing them directly into the landfill myself. Recycling sounds good, right?...but where can I do that?

http://www.apple.com/environment/recycling/

Ohhh, sweet! Apple takes old things for recycling...but will they take my old phones??

Lets check the site....




Very cool, the boxes on the right seem to indicate the following facts...

Apple’s free recycling program will take back your iPod or any cell phone — regardless of manufacturer or model.

You can bring your old cell phone to any Apple Retail Store for free recycling.

So the first sentence indicates that they will take any old phone for recycling...you just have to print out the mailing form and ship them off. Awesome, sounds easy enough. But wait!

I can bring my old cell phones to ANY Apple Retail Store for free recycling. Extra Awesome!!

Feeling comfortable that my logic was sound, I headed off to the local Apple Store to hand over my old busted phones.

Upon entering the store, I found one of those normally helpful blue/orange shirted employees and started into my story....about how old cell phones kill cute kittens.....and I like cute kittens so I wanted to recycle my phones.

After my short story, the employee kindly told me that they don't take any old phones for recycling...just some older iPhones. Ummmm Esqueeze me?

I explained that the website clearly and logically said otherwise....which he insisted wasn't correct.

So which is it Apple? Do you take off old non-Apple phones at ANY Apple Retail Store or not??

Either the employee was wrong...or your website is misleading. You tell me...