Some people go through cell phones faster than they do a roll of toilet paper, so in an effort to reduce our carbon (and landfill) footprint, some designers are starting to create handsets that are completely biodegradable. One such handset is the Bamboo, a cell phone that the designers say is completely biodegradable. This means that when you toss it away, it can be wither away without doing harm to Mother Nature.

Clearly an environmentally-friendly device, the Bamboo is made largely of bio-plastic that has been developed from natural resources like corn. They say that you can actually bury the print board, battery, and antenna into compost and it will disintegrate. The derivation of the name “Bamboo” comes from the fact that when you do bury it in compost, the handset releases bamboo seeds that grow into new plants.

To make it even greener, you can power the battery through a hand crank. A three-minute cranking session provides enough juice for a single phone call.