Celebrate Earth Day by recycling your old phone

If planting a tree isn’t your thing, then this Earth Day consider recycling that old unused cellphone you have stuffed in a drawer.

Through the AT&T Trade-in Program, consumers are invited to bring unwanted wireless phones, smartphones, accessories and batteries -- regardless of the manufacturer or carrier -- to AT&T company-owned retail stores for recycling.

But before you do, AT&T offers these tips for wiping the device clean to help protect your privacy:

• Turn off the device.
• Remove your phone's SIM card, if it has one.
• Erase your address book, photos, messages and other stored information.
• Restore the device factory settings on your device.
• For instructions on how to do this, refer to the owner's manual, or visit the manufacturer’s web site and follow the instructions for deleting all personal information on your wireless device.

According to the EPA, approximately 350,000 mobile phones are disposed of each day. That equates to more than 152 million phones thrown away in one year.

AT&T recycled approximately 7.3 million cell phones in 2015 alone.