WASHINGTON —There’s no reason to toss out that old cell phone, PDA, digital camera or other small electronic device. Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service — which has expanded the availability of a recycling program to 3,100 retail locations — customers can trade in their old electronic gadgets for cash.

“The U.S. Postal Service is making recycling your old cell phone quicker and easier than ever before,” said Gary Reblin, vice president of Domestic Products. “We’ve expanded this recycling program to offer more consumers the opportunity to protect the environment and put some money in their pocket at the same time and with USPS, the shipping is free.”

The Postal Service is working with MaxBack, an electronics recycling company, which specializes in reducing waste that ends up in landfills by either buying back or simply recycling unwanted electronics. Visit www.usps.com/ship/recycle-through-usps.htm and follow four easy steps to find out how much your old cell phone is worth and to see if your items qualify for instant cash:

1. Search for your cell phone or electronic device
2. Receive an instant quote and accept
3. Mail it FREE via USPS Priority Mail
4. Once MaxBack receives your item, they’ll inspect it and then send you your cash

Even if your old electronic device isn’t worth a dime, free recycling mail-back envelopes are available at participating USPS locations, making it easy for customers to ship their used small electronics (cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, digital cameras or used ink jet cartridges).

Cell phones and electronics that are damaged and unusable are remanufactured or recycled by MaxBack’s parent company Environmental Reclamation Services (ERS), a zero-landfill, reverse-logistics company owned by Clover Technologies Group, Inc. ERS has been in business in Erie, PA for two decades and is a leading recycler of printer cartridges and small electronics.

The Postal Service has won numerous environmental honors, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WasteWise Partner of the Year award in 2010 and 2011, the EPA's National Partnership for Environmental Priorities award in 2011 and the Climate Registry Gold award in 2011.

“The U.S. Postal Service has a strong commitment to be a sustainability leader,” said USPS Chief Sustainability Officer Thomas G. Day. “Our network infrastructure and logistical capability to deliver to every residence and business in the U.S. make the Postal Service a logical partner with a premiere recycler like MaxBack.com to maximize this green initiative.”

USPS participates in the International Post Corporation’s Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System, the global postal industry’s program to reduce its carbon footprint 20 percent by 2020 based on an FY 2008 baseline.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, by Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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