The Japanese have one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world, so it is no surprise to see new cellphones being released every single day, where even a 6-month old handset gets old fast. Whatever happens to all those old handsets, you ask? Why, they get recycled, of course! NTT DoCoMo and am/pm Japan are currently working on a solution to provide cellphone recycling bins at convenience stores throughout Japan, making it more convenient for Japanese to get rid of their older handsets. These recycling bins do not discriminate against different makes and models, and come with an anti-theft mechanism. To get an idea on how valuable old phones are, 2005 saw NTT harvest 42 tons of copper and 320 pounds of gold from old phones alone. Not to mention, they get properly discarded and recycled in the process.

Source: New Launches