Donate Your Old Cell Phone To A Worthy Cause This Season
Dec 22nd, 2009 by Guest Contributor
Hoping you get a new cell phone this Christmas? You aren’t alone.
There are now more than 275 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. That more than 80% of the entire US population! What’s even more eye opening is that we replace our phones on average every 12 to 18 months and it’s estimated that 130 million cell phones are retired every year. That’s more than a billion cell phones laying around in drawers or worse yet going to the landfill over the past 8 years. Cell phones contain valuable and toxic metals that can be recycled and working phones can be collected and reused by others. You can Do Your Part by giving your used phone a second life this holiday season.
The best part? It’s easy! Many cell phone providers will take back your old phone and recycle it for you. AT&T, Verizon, Motorola and Sprint all collect used phones to support their charitable or environmental causes. They are part of more than 2,000 companies or organizations that belong to the Wireless Recycling Network of ReCellular, the worlds leading recycler and reseller of cell phones. All makes and models are collected and every phone is refurbished, reused or responsibly recycled. In 2008, ReCellular collected over 5 million cell phones in the U.S. and Canada.
If you are thinking about donating your phone to help a specific cause, there are many choices. Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by teenage siblings and turns every donated cell phone into a 60-minute prepaid calling card for U.S. troops stationed overseas. The program has already donated 500,000 calling cards for soldiers. March of Dimes, Keep America Beautiful and Call to Protect are other organizations that also collect used cell phones to help fund their missions. Many offer pre-paid shipping solutions to collect your phone. You can find more information at www.Recellular.com/recycling. You will also find free instructions to remove the personal data from your phone before donating.
If you are looking to raise money for schools, Motorola has just the program for you. Through the Race To Recycle Program, your school partners with Motorola to raise funds for your school. It’s easy to register and each school can earn up to $21,000 per calendar year, less shipping and box fees.
Charities aren’t the only beneficiaries from recycling used cell phones. In 2008, ReCellular reclaimed 210,000 pounds of copper, 954 pounds of silver and 96 pounds of gold. That’s roughly $2.5 million dollars of precious metals that were recycled to produce new phones rather than mining for new materials.
Today, only 10% of cell phones in the U.S. are recycled. Imagine the gifts we could give to our favorite charity AND our planet if we committed to recycling or reusing every cell phone we no longer need. Do Your Part this year to keep them out of landfills and put them into the hands of someone who will put your old phone to good use.
Terri Bennett is an Earth scientist, syndicated columnist and mom. Send questions to terri@doyourpart.com. Get more everyday green living tips at www.DoYourPart.com
© 2009 Terri Bennett Enterprises, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
