Climate & Nature...

At last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Motorola introduced its new MOTO™ W233 Renew phone -- what it billed as "the world’s first mobile phone made using plastics comprised of recycled water bottles."

Of course, the entire phone isn't made of recycled plastic -- they're only really talking about the exterior. The guts of the phone -- the parts that make it work -- are still all metals that need to be carefully recycled when the phone is at the enf of its lifecycle.

But still, there's more good news. As Motorola writes, "Not only is the plastic housing of Renew made from plastics comprised of recycled water bottles and 100 percent recyclable, but it is also the world’s first carbon neutral phone. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The phone has earned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment."

The phone comes in smaller-than-usual packaging, which is made entirely of post-consumer waste. It also comes with an envelope so you can mail your old phone in for free recycling.

The W233 Renew will be available from T-Mobile later this quarter.