Motorola builds phone from recycled water bottles

The Moto W233 Renew is also "carbon neutral," according to the company

At CES today, Motorola unveiled a new phone with a unique environmentally responsible design: The plastic housing of the Moto W233 Renew is made of plastics from recycled water bottles, according to the company, and is itself 100 percent recyclable. Moreover, the company says the device is the world's first carbon-neutral phone.

[ Using recyclable materials to build phones is a good start, but there are other ways manufacturers can make their phones greener. ]

The use of recycled water-bottle plastic for the casing is pretty straightforward. But just how, you might wonder, does a company make an electronic device carbon neutral? The same way some companies attempt to make themselves carbon neutral: using carbon offsets. "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," according to Motorola.

Beyond using the recycled plastic and making the phone carbon neutral, Motorola has reduced the phone's packaging by 22 percent. All of the materials inside are printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. In addition, a postage-paid recycling envelope in box makes it easy for consumers to return their previous mobile phone for recycling at no cost.

The Renew will first be available at T-Mobile USA in the first quarter of this year.