New Cell Phone Time!

There's an article in my school newspaper about the cell phone recycling program. I've noticed the bins around the school with labels about helping breast cancer (I think); most of them seem to be empty, but I don't want to rouse suspicion that I'm trying to steal personal information from old cell phones.

Is this a way to make people feel less bad about buying a shiny new phone when their old one is... old (two years or whatever the "new cell phone free for ___ months" contracts are)?