Cell Phones and Equipment Discarded by New Rule Can Be Recycled and Reused With Ease
Phoenix, AZ., January 1, 2004 – Over 100 million cell phones are expected to be discarded in 2004 according to Inform, Inc., an environmental research group. With less than one percent of these phones being recycled, millions of phones are destined for desk drawers, garages, local landfills or incinerators. Earth911.com wants cellular phone owners to know its national Internet network (www.Earth911.com) and phone hotline (1-800-CLEANUP) can make finding a recycling location for obsolete cell phones and equipment as easy as switching their phone to a new carrier. “With over 1,500 cellular phone recycling and reuse locations listed in the Earth 911 database, the public can easily find cell phone recycling locations in their community and help eliminate cell phones from being discarded or stored,” says Anne Reichman, Director of Earth 911.
With the activation of the new federal ruling by the Federal Communications Commission on November 24, 2003, allowing users to keep their number when changing cellular carriers, as many as 30 million consumers are expected to switch cell phone companies, rendering many of their existing cell phones unusable. By visiting on the Web, www.CLEANUP.org or www.Earth911.com, or calling the bi-lingual, toll-free hotline, 1-800-CLEANUP, consumers can easily find cell phone recycling locations, as well as much, much more!
- By putting in a local, five-digit ZIP Code, residents can pull up community-specific recycling, reuse and environmental information for all 50 states and Canada.
- With over 200 recyclable and reusable materials to choose from, residents can find recycling locations for everything from cell phones and rechargeable batteries to aluminum cans and Christmas trees.
- The largest environmental database of its kind in the US and Canada, Earth 911 tracks more than 200,000 community-based recycling and household hazardous waste services across North America.
With water quality and solid waste issues becoming more pronounced locally across the country, it is logical to recycle cell phones so they can either be reused or disposed of in a managed process. Due to the small size and light weight of cell phones (most weighing less than a pound), they are more likely to be thrown out in the trash. Over the course of a year, an estimated 65,000 tons of cell phones make their way into local waste streams without the recent ruling, according to Inform, Inc.
To help cell phone recycling, both municipal governments and retailers are providing convenient recycling locations and services. “The Earth 911 system is definitely a Œone stop shop¹ for environmental information around the country, and Staples is proud to be a part of this important national network”, said Mark Buckley, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at Staples, a National Partner of the Earth 911 system. With about 1,100 stores across the US, Staples accepts a number of common business items for recycling , including cellular phones, PDAs, pagers, rechargeable batteries, and ink jet and laser toner cartridges. “As part of Staples¹ company-wide environmental commitment, we work to make recycling easy and available to our customers every day ,” added Buckley.
So when you find your cell phone is no longer of use to you, do the environmentally responsible thing visit the Earth 911 network, www.CLEANUP.org or www.Earth911.com and 1-800-CLEANUP, to locate a recycling center near you. It¹s fast, easy, and a way to Make Every Day Earth Day.
About Earth 911
Founded in 1991 and operated by Cleanup, Inc., the Earth 911 Public and Private Sector Partnership directs the public with free “call-to-action” awareness programs. Through a Web site (www.CLEANUP.org or www.Earth911.com) and toll-free bilingual hotline (1-800-CLEANUP), environmental information and resources are provided by local governments and readily available for all communities across the United States and Canada.
For More Information:
Media Relations, media@cleanup.org
