HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- There's a new way to go green with recycling, but it's not with the typical cans, glass and paper. Rather, it's recycling something that's probably collecting dust: your old cell phones.

More and more unused cell phones are piling up. Best Buy Mobile Manager Sam Vanderpool believes he knows why.

"It's a technology that every few years people are buying new phones," Vanderpool said.

That means millions of old phones that are not being used are simply sitting around.

"There are approximately 100 million old phones that are floating around that have not been recycled," Vanderpool said. "Only 10% of those phones are being recycled."

So, this week the Environmental Protection Agency is spreading the word that you can recycle your old handsets and put them to good use.

Electronic stores like Best Buy along with cellular providers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T and many others now have programs set up to collect those old phones.

"You can go through you closets and if you want to make a difference and go green," Verizon Wireless Assistant Manager Amanda Jones said.

Verizon Wireless has set up "Hopeline." The program takes donated cell phones, batteries and accessories and fix them up. Then, they will donate the phones to victims of domestic violence.

"They'll either sell the parts and donate the money to local shelters," Jones said. "Or the cell phones could be refurbished and given to the shelters."

Here are some tips to remember before donating your phone:

-Terminate the service for the donated phone
-Clear the phone's memory
-Do a factory reset
-Remove the SIM card