Sprint will start offering the Samsung Reclaim, an eco-friendly smartphone built partially from corn-based bio-plastics. The handset is set to become available in August 16 for $50 from Sprint, Best Buy and Radio Shack.

The handset comes with a slide-down QWERTY keyboard, 3G data network support, a modest 2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoon and video recording capabilities. In addition, the handset sports stereo Bluetooth support, GPS receiver with Sprint Navigation software, and a microSD card and a standard headphone jack.

40 percent of the phone is made from bio-plastics and 80 percent of the phone can be recycled. Sprint hopes to recycle 90 percent of wireless devices by 2017.

"We are proud of the Reclaim and the progress it reflects,” said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse.