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Give Your Old Cell Phone A New Life- in English and Spanish

Release Date: 07/08/2008
Contact Information: Lina Younes (202) 564-9924 / younes.lina@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – July 8, 2008) Speaking today at the Annual Convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Administrator Johnson announced a Spanish language campaign to encourage cell phone recycling. The campaign will include print public service advertisements and podcasts that highlight the convenience and environmental and social benefits of recycling cell phones. EPA launched 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.

"EPA is calling on Americans to reuse and recycle old electronics," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "Recycling cell phones helps the environment by saving energy and keeping useable and valuable materials out of landfills."

Over the past months, 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 convenient cell phone recycling. AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Palm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have joined EPA's Plug-In To eCycling program to provide more opportunities for Americans to recycle their cell phones.

An estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, many languishing in storage. If Americans recycle 100 million phones, we will save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a 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. As part of the cell phone recycling campaign, partners have worked to increase the capacity and outreach of their existing cell phone recycling programs through various approaches, including holding special collection events. Partners LG Electronics, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson each established a cell phone recycling program in 2008.

Information about the cell phone recycling campaign: https://www.epa.gov/cellphone

Information about the cell phone recycling campaign: https://www.epa.gov/celulares

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