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Is Your Cell Phone Being Recycled Responsibly?

April 13, 2006

As reported by Knight Ridder, a recent survey of leading U.S. wireless carriers (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and Cingular) found these companies have cell phone recycling programs that are ineffectual at best. The Cell Phone Recycling Report Card shows that the big four, which account for 86 percent of the U.S market, recycle less than two percent of the 130 million cell phones discarded in the U.S. each year.

But my cell phone’s so small. How can it harm the environment?

It’s not just landfill space that consumers need to be aware of. Cell phones and other personal electronic devices contain the known human carcinogens lead, cadmium and arsenic and the brain toxin mercury, which qualify as hazardous according to EPA guidelines.

Also, the plastic casing on cell phones is often treated with toxic flame retardants. These neurotoxins impair attention, learning, memory and behavior in laboratory tests. After these products reach the landfill or the incinerator they can reenter the soil, air, and water.

Not all recyclers are created equal

According to the Report Card, ReCellular, the most prominent cell phone recycler, refuses to release information demonstrating that their phones are recycled responsibly.

If you want to ensure that your phone will actually be recycled, and that its hazardous byproducts won’t be dumped in developing nations, you’ll want to choose a recycler that has signed the Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship.

One recycler, whose collection bins can be found at every Staples© office supply store, is responsible-electronics-recycling pioneer, CollectiveGood (GA). Proceeds from phones dropped off at Staples go directly to the Sierra Club.

Find a Staples in your area
Check out Earthworks, authors of the Cell Phone Recycling Report Card
photos © Chris Jordan Photography

Posted at 11:38 AM

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1 Comment

Sara Grimes | April 19, 2006 4:13 PM | Reply

Thanks for bringing this issue up! People just don't think about the impact of their favorite little e-friends.

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