Many U.S. citizens have definite opinions on China's toxicity when it comes to pet food and toys yet are either ignorant or simply don't care that the U.S. dumps a significant amount of waste in the very same country. Recently, the Government Accountability Office uncovered the fact that there is currently no restriction from the EPA on what can be exported to China in the form of waste, even when those items end up in any number of unregulated places or are dismantled by children who can suffer the effects from exposure to harmful materials. The GAO ran a sting of sorts ... Full Story

One of the ongoing programmes at Verizon Wireless is HopeLine(R), a scheme that donates used wireless phones to domestic violence agencies. The most recent donation of 25 mobile phones with prepaid service was given to Safe in Hunterdon, a non-profit organisation based in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The agency is committed to providing potentially life-saving services to survivors of domestic violence and their families. HopeLine is able to supply the used mobiles through a donation programme in which consumers donate old and unwanted mobile phones through Verizon Wireless Communications Stores. The phones are collected and recycled, refurbished, or sold. The ... Full Story

Many people simply don't think about mobile phones as being a recyclable item. It's a shame, really, considering that many used handsets still have a great deal of value, from reusability to recyclability. Studies have shown that almost 200 million mobile phones will purchased in the U.S. over the next twelve months. The majority of consumers already own mobiles, so what will happen to them? Mostly, the phones will end up in a drawer somewhere. If not, the handsets will end up in a landfill where their hazardous elements can leak into the soil and ground water. These elements can include ... Full Story

Culcheth Primary is has teamed up with Fones4Schools, the UK's foremost mobile phone recycling scheme. The purpose of ... Full Story

It seems clear that people still need a fair amount of incentive in order to recycle their old mobile phones. The Consumer Electronic Association has estimated that nearly 15.4 million phones were taken to landfill last year and with people trading in phones on an average of every 18 months many of those phones still work just fine. Obviously, living in a "disposable" society is hurting us more than we realise. There are so many people and places, from recyclers to charitable organisations, that are willing to take old mobile phones for recycling, and a great number of companies pay for ... Full Story

A recent programme held in Chicago for mobile phone recycling was titled, "Tossed aside - what a waste". Now another scheme has come to the surface to benefit senior citizens. The programme, Cell Phones for Seniors, has been in effect since 2006 and has recently seen a re-emergence in activity. There are over 10,000 senior citizens in the Chicago area that have been recipients of used cell phones. The phones do not come with service but all phones are able to dial emergency services. This allows seniors to call for help or to report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods. Everyone ... Full Story

Cell Phones for Soldiers were able to send out 50,000 pre-paid phone cards recently, thanks to assistance from ReCellular, a Michigan based recycling firm. The not-for-profit organisation collects old cell phones and in turn, sells them to ReCellular, in order to raise funds for U.S. soldiers overseas. This year, ReCellular has processed about 1.4 million phones for the organisation. Gail Bergquist, mother of the teens that founded the charity in 2004, sys that the sale of the phones plus donations allowed the group to send more than 500,000 phone cards to various members of the military who might not otherwise have a ... Full Story

In an address to the United National Party held at the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardene spoke out regarding the newly introduced ‘Green Villages' programme. Gunawardene said that the previous UNP government levied a high tax on mobile phones in an effort to collect Rs 600 million, the proceeds of which has been used to fund the World Bank supported ‘One village one product' programme. Gunawardene also said it is ironic that the UNP would levy such a tax on mobile phones but is now opposed to introducing an environmental levy against recycling mobile phone ... Full Story

Nokia SA is planning to launch its mobile phone "take-back" scheme in various Sub-Saharan countries. Currently, the mobile phone company operates more than 30 mobile phone take-back sites around the country and has a plan in the works to open collection sites, located in Nokia's retail outlets. "We rolled out around 35 recycling bins to independent care points in SA. End-users can bring their unused cell phones for recycling," says Matthew Channing, Nokia SA head of care, Sub-Saharan Africa. "In the next few weeks, we will be expanding to other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Senegal, and in the future we ... Full Story

Globul, Bulgaria's #2 mobile company, has teamed up with Germanos Telecom Bulgaria to develop a mobile phone recycling programme. Together, the companies hope to take in five kg of used mobile phones, chargers, data cables, headsets, and other accessories. This won't be the first recycling programme of its kind in the area. Consumer electronics retailer 2be launched a similar programme recently and has collected approximately 1000 devices in the first six months of operation. The majority of those donating phones to the eco-cause used store credits to purchase new gadgets at a lower cost. Globul Chief Executive Haris Kotsibos announced that the ... Full Story

Recently, a group of experts began examining the lack of electronic waste recycling sources in Qatar. Currently, there is no viable facility used to recycle e-waste, nor are there any laws that require it. So what happens to used mobile phones, computers and the like? When it comes to electronics resellers and service centres, the environment ministry simply tells them to accumulate the waste. One retailer wanted to know just how long they are supposed to keep it up. No one seems to have a good answer. Sorry to say that because there are no policies or facilities to encourage, or ... Full Story

Residents in Northeastern Oklahoma are being encouraged to dig out their old mobile phones and donate them to a good cause. The Coweta Band program is attempting to raise money to pay for an upcoming trip to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Tex. The trip, scheduled for December, will cost approximately $80,000, all inclusive. The fundraising project manager Teddy Wyatt said that the school has chosen to use GRC, the largest mobile phone recycling company in the U.S. GRC collects mobile phones, refurbishes and resells them to consumers. Phones that cannot be reused are recycled. The program expects ... Full Story