There you are, sending a snap to keep the 15-day streak alive and bam — your phone slips from your hands and plummets toward the unforgiving sidewalk below. You lift it, hoping the case saved your screen, but alas...it is no more. So, you take the shattered remains of your cellphone to your cell service provider, say your final goodbyes and drop it into the 'recycling' bin. You've got the newest model, but what happened to your old one?

When electronics such as computers, televisions, cellphones and other technological gadgets are thrown out, they become known as electronic waste. Globally, we product 25 million tons of electronic waste or "E-waste" each year.

Why is this a global issue? All these electronics contain large amounts of highly toxic chemicals and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and flame retardants, which are known to cause cancer, birth defects, miscarriages and organ failure.E-waste is responsible for 70 percent of all heavy metals in landfills.

If it doesn't make it in a landfill here in the United States, it becomes an export.

Secondhand programs began to take off with the advancement of technology, so nations would ship used, functioning electronics overseas to second and third world countries, aiding in globalization.

The Basel Convention was created to protect underdeveloped countries from becoming E-waste dumpsites, but large corporations began to cut corners by shipping broken electronics labeled as secondhand to save on the proper disposal and recycling fees.

This led to a new wave of E-waste 'recycling'

When E-waste is shipped overseas, it ends up in small, impoverished communities like Guiyu, China. Workers break apart computers, smashing them without protective gear and extract any valuable pieces that can then be resold. The rest of the computer is either chucked into a larger pile, or incinerated (which releases Dioxin, one of the deadliest chemicals known to man).

So, what can we do to fix this technological spam? Take action! Learn about programs, donation efforts and proper, legitimate recycling plants.

- The EPA is offering tax incentives to businesses donating old technology, working with other nations to reduce E-waste and working to control illegal waste exportation.

- Before you recycle your next gadget, verify its legitimacy with E-Stewards.

- Instead of always going for that new phone, computer or television, hold onto your tech for a while (reduce and reuse).

- Donate your old electronics to shelters, schools and lower income communities who cannot afford them.

Together we can save the planet, one cellphone at a time.