380M cellphones sold in 2001, manufacturers pledge to recycle old models
From Thursday, December 12, 2002
according to this Associated Press story in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required):
Leading mobile-phone manufacturers pledged Thursday to work with the U.N. Environment Program to try to ensure that old models are recycled or refurbished rather than simply dumped.
An estimated 380 million mobile phones were sold last year, and ownership is expected to soar in the coming months. Manufacturers say that in some developed countries, the average life span of a mobile phone is just a few months, although they also say there are no reliable figures on how many are thrown away.