OTTAWA – The country’s free cell phone recycling program is encouraging Canadians to recycle their old cell phones and accessories during Earth Week 2011 via its free ‘Recycle My Cell’ program.
Run by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) in conjunction with cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers, the goal of the program is to keep handsets and accessories from entering Canada’s landfills. Proceeds from the recycled devices are donated to charity, and close to $1 million has been raised since the program launched two years ago.
A visit to the bilingual website allows consumers to enter their postal code to locate the ten drop-off locations closest to them where their devices will be accepted, regardless of brand or condition. Should someone be unable to visit one of the 3,500 drop-off locations, the site also provides printable postage-paid labels to use for mailing the devices, making recycling a wireless device hassle-free and at no cost to the consumer.
"There is no reason whatsoever that a cell phone should ever end up in one of Canada’s landfills," said CWTA president and CEO Bernard Lord, in the announcement. "The wireless industry and its customers have proven that a no-cost-to-the-consumer formula for the responsible management of e-waste not only exists, but is thriving."
Recycle My Cell is made possible with participation from Bell, GEEP, GREENTEC, LG Electronics, Lynx Mobility, Motorola Mobility, MTS, Nokia, ReCellular, Research In Motion, Rogers, Samsung, SaskTel, Sims Recycling Solutions, Sony Ericsson, TBayTel, Telus, Videotron, Virgin Mobile Canada and Wind Mobile. All of the processors involved in the program have environmental management systems in place that guarantee accountability and knowledge of the environmental impacts associated with recycling.
