[Sqg-program] FW: EPA News Release (HQ): Cell Phone Recycling is an Easy Call . . . in Florida, too!

Tue Jan 8 15:12:53 EST 2008

See the recent EPA press release promoting cell phone recycling (below). This
may be a good time to promote cell phone recycling in your areas. Ron, please
send this information to the county and city recycling coordinators, too. 

Cell phone recycling programs that are part of the EPA's PlugIn to eCycling
program can be found on  http://www.epa.gov/cellphone
<http://www.epa.gov/cellphone>  [click link in Where To Recycle Your Cell
Phone box.]  The link goes to a page where 6 cell phone
manufacturers/providers and 3 major retailers are listed. All 6 cell phone
manufacturers/providers have a link where you can just print a label from the
computer, attach it to a box that contains the phone, then just drop it in
the mail, no charge.  The retailers and 5 of the 6 cell phone
manufacturers/providers have drop off recycling. All of these programs are
free.

There are other cell phone recycling programs that are free and even buyback
certain cellphones that have remarketing value.

Two are Florida based cellphone recyclers:

1.    GRC Wireless (Miramar):  See http://www.grcrecycling.com/index.cfm,
click on Donate Your Old Cell Phones at the bottom of the page. Leads to
http://www.grcrecycling.com/programs/donate-cell-phones/index.cfm, select
"Recycle Basic" to access a free mailing label for one or more phones. Select
"Recycle Plus" if you have 10 or more phones. 

2.    RMS Communications (Ocala)  CellForCash program:  See
http://www.cellforcash.com/main/recycle.asp to print a free mailing label.
There are other opportunities to sell a phone with remarket value or donate
phones at http://www.cellphonerecycling.com. 

There are at least 2 other national programs:

1.    RBRC, which also recycles rechargeable batteries at more than 1,500
sites in Florida, offers cell phone recycling through its Call2Recycle
program. See http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle.  I found about 35+ sites
within 10 miles of my home in Tallahassee, so this appears to be nearly as
convenient as RBRC's battery recycling program.

2.    Recellular buys back or provides donation opportunities. According to
their website, phones with no value or donation potential are recycled. I
could not find a way to access their recycling service except through their
donation program where the donation rejects are recycled. See
http://www.recellular.com/recycling/index.asp. 

John L. (Jack) Price

Environmental Manager

Hazardous Waste Management MS 4555

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road

Tallahassee, FL  32399-2400

Phone:850.245.8751

Fax: 850.245.8811

john.l.price at dep.state.fl.us

www.dep.state.fl.us/waste

Please Note:  Florida has a very broad public records law.  Most written
communications to or from state officials regarding state business are public
records available to the public and media upon request.  Your e-mail is
communications and may therefore be subject to public disclosure.

From: Frohock, Linda 
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 12:05 PM
To: Goddard, Charles; Clarke, Raoul; Henricks, Ron; Price, John L.
Subject: FW: News Release (HQ): Cell Phone Recycling is an Easy Call

Linda Frohock

Senior Management Analyst II

Division of Waste Management

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4500

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400

850-245-8694

FAX:  850-245-8703

Email:  linda.frohock at dep.state.fl.us 

Please Note: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written
communications to or from state officials regarding state business are public
records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail
communications may therefore be subject to public disclosure.

From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa at govdelivery.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 11:31 AM
To: Frohock, Linda
Subject: News Release (HQ): Cell Phone Recycling is an Easy Call

News for Release: Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2007 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Cell Phone Recycling is an Easy Call 

Contact: Roxanne Smith, (202) 564-4355 / smith.roxanne at epa.gov 

(Washington, D.C. - Jan. 8, 2008) The nation's leading cell phone makers,
service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to answer America's call for easy cell phone recycling. As
part of EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program, partners supporting the cell phone
recycling campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola,
Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile. 

"Thanks to our Plug-In partners' efforts, recycling an old cell phone has
become a quick and easy way for Americans to help protect the environment,"
said Susan Bodine, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response. "By dropping it off at a store or sending it through
the mail, Americans have more recycling options today than ever before." 

To kick-off the campaign, EPA released today a series of print public service
announcements, "Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's An Easy Call," which highlight
the convenience and environmental and social benefits of recycling a cell
phone. EPA also introduced a podcast that addresses many common questions on
cell phone recycling. 

EPA started the campaign because many consumers still do not know where or
how they can recycle their unwanted cell phones. Consequently, less than 20
percent of unwanted cell phones are recycled each year. 

Recycling a cell phone offers an opportunity for everyone to help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and conserve natural resources. An
estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, many
languishing in storage. If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could
save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a
year. If consumers were able to reuse those 100 million cell phones, the
environmental savings would be even greater, saving enough energy to power
more than 370,000 U.S. homes each year. 

Plug-In To eCycling is a voluntary partnership between EPA and electronics
manufacturers, retailers, and service providers to offer consumers more
opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics. In 2007, as part
of their commitment to the program, retailers and electronics manufacturers
voluntarily recycled more than 47 million pounds of electronics, mostly
computers and televisions. For example, in 2007 Staples and Office Depot both
launched in-store electronics take back programs across the continental U.S.
and Sony teamed up with Waste Management Inc. to expand local TV recycling
opportunities. Efforts like these have helped the Plug-In program to recycle
more than 142 million pounds of electronics since 2003. 

Information about the cell phone recycling campaign:
http://www.epa.gov/cellphone <http://www.epa.gov/cellphone>  

Information about the Plug-In to eCycling program:
http://www.epa.gov/plug-in/ <http://www.epa.gov/plug-in/>  

R003 

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