Recycle your old mobile phone and help save endangered wildlife

Did you know your old mobile phone could help FFI to save gorillas and other endangered wildlife around the world?

Why recycle?

In the UK alone, over 15 million people replace their phones every year, yet only a small percentage of these phones are recycled. Refurbishing or recycling these phones will remove an estimated 7,500 tonnes of landfill, and will prevent the potentially hazardous materials found in phones from degrading and seeping into the environment.

Reusing old mobile phones also creates social benefits for developing countries. Research shows that the high cost of handsets is the single largest barrier to mobile phone use in developing countries. By sending your old phone to FFI, you help make low cost handsets available to support development and close the digital divide.

Phone facts

An estimated 1.75 billion mobile phones are in circulation around the world, with 45 million in the UK alone.
Every hour, 1,712 mobile phones are replaced in the UK.
An estimated 90 million phones lie unused in the UK.
The cadmium from one mobile phone battery is enough to pollute 600,000 litres of water, which would fill 1/3 of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
If all the mobile users in the UK threw away their old mobile phones when they upgraded, there would be £650,000 worth of silver sent to landfill a year.

For every phone received, FFI will receive about £5.

Charlotte Whitwell, fundraising officer for FFI, said she hoped schools and businesses, as well as the general public, would join the effort, and collect up old phones. "With an estimated 90 million phones lying unused in offices, drawers, cupboards and landfills across the UK alone, the potential is huge,” says Charlotte. “However, we need people to dig around and send their old phones in to us to make it happen."Schoolchildren can act as 'phone recycling representatives' to encourage their companions to bring their old mobile phones to school. Any school can take part. We are also particularly interested to hear from businesses who want to do their bit for the environment and help a good cause.

HOW TO DONATE YOUR OLD PHONE

Simply pop the phone in an envelope and post it to: Fauna & Flora International, FREEPOST ShP Solutions, Lancaster.Contact Charlotte Whitwell on (01223) 579471/ charlotte.whitwell@fauna-flora.org to request a free supply of freepost mobile phone recycling bags.

Find out more about phone recycling with FFI here

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