You’ve likely heard about the long-anticipated 3G iPhone being announced (and hopefully released) in a few days. You may already own an iPhone, or have been waiting for Apple to release “Version 2.0″ of the device so you won’t feel like a guinea pig. Either way, if you’re in the queue lusting after the latest magical mobile wonder, you’re probably not giving much thought to your existing phone. In fact, you probably can’t wait to roll over it with your car on the way home. You know your phone; it has a couple lame games, a blurry camera, an annoying rap ringtone that your darn kid put on and you had to manually enter all your contacts using that dorky multi-press technique on the numbers. You got it for free when you signed up for your mobile plan. At the time you thought it was a good deal, but now you feel like a Luddite watching all the cool people with their iPhones swiping, pinching and tapping their screens. Before you chunk your old phone in the garbage, please consider the following:

1. Erase all your personal data. This should be common sense, but you’d be amazed at how few people actually do this. Would you hand pictures of your kid to a complete stranger? Many people do. Erase the contacts, text messages (created, drafts and sent), call lists, favorites, photos, music, games, and calendars. If you need help, check the manual that came with your phone, or look it up on the manufacturer’s website in case you tossed that too.

2. Don’t throw it away! The batteries on phones are incredibly bad for the environment. When you consider that literally half the planet (over 2 billion people) own a mobile phone, and the average turnover rate for acquiring a new phone is 14-18 months, we’re talking about enough batteries to cover the square footage of a city being tossed into landfills each year.

3. Donate your old phone. There are a number of organizations that will gladly accept your old phone. Many electronics stores have special bins in the lobby to place your phone for recycling, but you can also be more specific as to who gets your phone. Like a soldier stationed overseas, or a victim of domestic violence. Here’s just a sampling of the many options you have to keeping that old mobile out of a landfill.

with these organizations:

Recycle My Cell Phone

ECO-Cell Phone For Soldiers

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Virgin Mobile: reGeneration

Recellular