Cell Phone Recycling Program Helps Oregon Hospital
by Ashley Schiller on July 30th, 2008
Consumer Cellular, a mobile network operator based in Oregon, diverts cell phones from landfills and helps a local hospital through its recycling program, according to TMCnet.
About 10,000 cell phones have been recycled since the program began in October. Usable phones are refurbished and sold, while others are properly recycled. All proceeds go to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation at Oregon Health & Science University. More than $8,000 has been donated.
The company makes it easy to recycle old mobiles. A postage-paid envelope for the former phone is given with the purchase of a new one. All phones, functioning or worn out, are accepted.
An estimated 150 million cell phones are retired in the U.S. every year, but less than 10 percent of those phones are recycled, according to TMCnet. Why so few? One reason may be that many people are unaware of cell phone recycling options - only 75 percent of Americans, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
A survey by Nokia reveals similar statistics. Globally, 74 percent of consumers said they don’t even think about recycling their phones. But the phones are not usually put in the trash, just a drawer around the house, where they sit unused.
Find a location to recycle your cell phone using Earth 911.
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