If like me you have being using cell phones for some time
you probably have a collection of not working, or not used older models sitting
around somewhere. One of the green Acts you can do on GreenNexxus or
OneMillionActsofGreen is to recycle your older phone.
Well that is very nice, but where do you go to do that. Simply
throwing it out in the Green Bin does not quite get the job done. So, my
project is to find groups willing to act as collection points for those who
have cell phones to recycle and to help them set up a successful recycling
program for Cell Phones.
Organizations such as Charitable Recycling in Canada and Recycling for Charities in the USA
are set up to handle the refurbishment and recycling of cell phones, what they
need is local groups who can collect the phones, bundle them up and ship them
off to them. Perfect projects for groups like the YMCA, local youth groups and
other community action groups.
Charitable recycling will in fact make efforts to get your
old cell phone back to work by refurbishing it and providing it for use in an impoverished
country where new cell phones are unavailable and or too expensive. If your
phone can not be fixed then it goes to a properly certified electronics
recycler who is set up to handle the toxic chemicals that are in each cell
phone (the older the worse it is) and that would otherwise become toxic waste
if simply thrown in the garbage.
If you want to get involved and help to recycle some of the
tens of millions of old cell phones please contact me. I’ll let you know how my
efforts go in terms of getting some community groups set up to help reduce the
number of old cell phones sitting in old shoe boxes in the cupboard!
Only 1 in 10 cell phones are recycled.
As of 2009, there are more than 1 billion mobile phones waiting to be recycled (in drawers or already in the waste stream). Cell phones and accessories are made from valuable materials such as precious metals, copper, and plastics - all of which require energy to extract and manufacture.
Nine out of ten cell phones or devices end up in the dumps and landfill, leaking lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other toxic substances into the water supply. Some municipalities incinerate their waste, releasing toxins into our air.
This is COOL! Recycling helps African gorillas. Cell phones require a lot of coltan, a mineral extracted in the deep forests of Congo in central Africa, home to the world's endangered lowland gorillas. Fueled by the worldwide cell phone boom, Congo's out-of-control coltan mining business has in recent years led to a dramatic reduction of animal habitat and the rampant slaughter of great apes for the illegal bush-meat trade.
If we all recycled our old cell phons we would save enough energy to power 20,0000 North American homes for a year. Recycling cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves natural resources. According to the EPA,