Ever wondered about where you have kept your old cell phone. Well in all probability it is lying in one of your drawers at home. This is not a wild guess but is supported by recently revealed survey results by Nokia.

According to the survey a mere 3 percent of the users actually recycle their phones. About 44 percent keep their old phones at home while others give it to friends, family or sell them off.

The survey reflected an alarming lack of awareness with the consumers about the importance of recycling of cell phones. About 50 percent oft the consumers were not even aware that phones can be recycled. Further 74 percent did not felt it important to recycle their phones.

"We were surprised by the low levels of awareness, but at the same time it''s an opportunity for us to work with people to raise that number," said Susan Allsopp, Nokia spokeswoman.

To highlight the importance of recycling phones, Nokia quantifies the advantages by stating that if the 3 billion mobile phone owners recycled their phones, 240,000 tons of raw materials could be reused. The reduction in carbon emission due to reusue of the raw material will be equivalent to taking off 4 million cars off the road, says Nokia.