Recycling Week NZ is about much more than just bottles, cans, plastic and paper – the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) is encouraging New Zealanders to rummage through their household drawers and recycle their old mobile phones.
The TCF manages the nationwide not-for-profit mobile phone recycling scheme RE:MOBILE that is supported by 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone.
“While most of us are in the habit of recycling our bottles, cans, plastic and paper, when it comes to other less conventional waste streams (and in particular e-waste), people may still be unaware that there are environmentally responsible disposal options available to them,” said Geoff Thorn, TCF CEO.
“There’s no reason these days mobile phones should end up in landfill (where they pose environmental risks). RE:MOBILE is accessible to all New Zealanders and we urge Kiwis to take the time out in Recycling Week to do a spring clean out of your drawers … it’s likely you’ll find an old unwanted phone or two.”
Thorn suspects there may be hundreds of thousands of discarded mobile phones sitting around in people’s homes: “It’s all too easy to shove an old phone into a drawer to keep as a ‘just in case’ spare, but often it will never be used again.”
RE:MOBILE works alongside its charity partner Sustainable Coastlines. More than 548,000 mobile phones have been donated since the RE:MOBILE scheme was accredited in 2014.