Hoping you get a new cellphone for Christmas? You have company.

There are now more than 275 million cellphone subscribers in the United States. That's more than 80 percent of the entire U.S. population. What's even more eye opening is that we replace our phones on average every 12 to 18 months and it's estimated that 130 million cellphones are retired every year.

That's more than a billion cellphones lying around in drawers or, worse yet, going to the landfill over the past eight years. Cellphones contain valuable and toxic metals that can be recycled, and working phones can be collected and reused by others. You can do your part by giving your used phone a second life this holiday season.

The best part? It's easy. Many cellphone providers will take back your old phone and recycle it for you. AT&T, Verizon, Motorola and Sprint all collect used phones to support their charitable or environmental causes.

They are among more than 2,000 companies or organizations that belong to the Wireless Recycling Network of ReCellular. All makes and models are collected and every phone is refurbished, reused or responsibly recycled.

If you are thinking about donating your phone to help a specific cause, the choices are many.

Cell Phones for Soldiers turns every donated cellphone into a 60-minute prepaid calling card for U.S. troops overseas. The program already has donated 500,000 calling cards for soldiers.

March of Dimes, Keep America Beautiful and Call to Protect collect used cellphones to help fund their missions. Many offer pre-paid shipping to collect your phone. You can find more information at www.Recellular.com/recycling.

If you are looking to raise money for schools, the Race to Recycle Program, your school partners with Motorola to raise funds for your school.

Charities aren't the only beneficiaries. In 2008, ReCellular reclaimed 210,000 pounds of copper, 954 pounds of silver and 96 pounds of gold. That's roughly $2.5 million of precious metals that were recycled to produce new phones rather than mining for new materials.