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SUPPORT YOUR ZOO
Recycle Your
Old Cell Phones and Help the Zoo
The Zoo is working with a company called
Eco-Cell to recycle cell phones, help the environment and make money for
conservation.
Many of us have one or more old cell
phones stuck in drawers or closets just waiting for a place to go. You
don’t want to throw them in the trash because you’ve heard its bad for
the environment. Well the Louisville Zoo has a solution for you!
Bring your old cell phones to the Zoo
anytime throughout the summer and put them in the special containers on
the Front Plaza. ANY kind of cell phone will be accepted – even
the big, heavy ones that were popular 10 years ago and wouldn’t come
close to fitting in your pocket now.
Eco-Cell
will donate up to $15 for newer model phones. And because the
Louisville Zoo is an Eco-Cell Silverback Partner, we receive money for
EVERY phone that we recycle.
Please be sure these are old phones
and that your service has been disconnected.
ECO-Cell Privacy Statement
ECO-Cell
does not clear cell phones of data or content left on
phones. It is the responsibility of the donating party to
cancel or switch service on the phone
and to delete
any data such as phone numbers, text messages, pictures,
emails, documents, etc. that might be on the cell phone.
ECO-Cell
sends donated phones to refurbishing companies who often
delete any content left on phones, but Eco-Cell cannot
guarantee that content will always be deleted. Therefore it
is Eco-Cell’s position and recommendation that those wishing
to donate a phone take the time to clear phone of all data
to ensure maximum privacy.
Why Should I Recycle
My Phone?
There are over 150 million cell
phones in use in the United States today and the average replacement
life of these phones is 18 months. By the year 2005 it is estimated
that there will be 500 million cell phones out of use and that is
obviously growing.
Cell phones contain a number of
hazardous substances with some of the like cadmium having serious impact
to the environment. Donating your phone to the Zoo and having it
recycled by Eco-Cell will ensure that most of these cell phones and
their accessories will be reused or properly recycled. And you will
help the Zoo raise money for conservation.
Who Gets
the Phones?
Some of the
phones collected by Eco-Cell will go to charities that require them for
emergency 911 use. Others will be recycled because they are no longer
usable. But the majority will be refurbished and reused by first time,
low income users in Latin American and other areas where cell phone
technology is compatible with those in the United States.
Coltan, Gorillas and
Cell Phones
By Stephanie Darst
Coltan (short for columbite-tantalite)
is a metallic ore that can be refined into a heat-resistant powder that
holds an electrical charge. The powder, which regulates voltage and
stores energy, is used to coat capacitors in modern devices such as
laptops, pagers, PDAs and cell phones. Prices for metallic ore soared
as high as $400 per kilogram during the worldwide shortage in 2000
(remember when Sony Playstation 2s were delayed?), and even though the
price has remained stable in recent years, demand has steadily
increased.
Because coltan is found in so few
places worldwide, mining of the mineral in the Democratic Republic of
Congo has become big business. Not only have individuals, struggling to
make more than $10 per month, become involved in the industry, so have
armies and militia in the region. Sale of coltan has funded war efforts
and fueled conflicts among competing groups.
How is the mining of coltan a gorilla
conservation issue? The low-tech mining process involves miners digging
mud from streambeds, much as the 49ers did during the California Gold
Rush. These activities are occurring illegally in protected lands all
across the Congo. The process is devastating to the waterways and
surrounding land. The animals in the area, particularly gorillas and
elephants, are also forced from their range and killed for bushmeat by
miners and warring parties.
Efforts to address this crisis have
included campaigns to raise awareness, boycotts of African coltan
sources by some major technology manufacturers, and research to
establish viable alternatives to coltan.
Recycling cell
phones is one more way to decrease the demand for coltan. |
