Spring, Clean Commission recycling old cell phones

Sprint by Wireless Direct and the Cookeville-Putnam County Clean Commission are partnering their efforts to collect used and/or broken cell phones. We are working together to provide education about the environmental impact of top 10 cell phones disposal, and to encourage recycling of used cell phones.

An estimated 250 to 300 million cell phones are currently being used in the U.S. Up to 87 percent of adults own cell phones, plus many teenagers do also. In the U.S., the average cell phone user has three or more expired cell phones sitting somewhere in their homes and purchase a new phone ever 12 to 18 months. Sadly, only approximately 10 percent of cell phones are recycled. The remaining 90 percent end up in the landfill, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

All electronic devices are made from valuable natural resources and materials including glass, plastics and metals. Mining and manufacturing virgin resources require energy and water. Recycling used electronics conserves our natural resources and keeps precious (and sometimes toxic) resources out of the landfill. Electronics that are disposed of in a landfill and can leach into the groundwater, contaminating both land and water.

Toxins in best cell phone deals include cadmium batteries—each capable of contaminating 600,000 gallons of water; lead, which causes serious harm, especially to children; brominated flame retardants, associated with liver damage and neurological, immune and endocrine system problems; and beryllium, which causes lung cancer when burned. Proper disposal of cell phones is crucial because of the damage the various components can cause to living beings.

All cell phones collected will be recycled and kept out of the landfill. Cell phones will be harvested for materials that can be used to make new phones. For every million cell phones recycled, 33 pounds of palladium, 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, and 35 thousand pounds of copper are recovered and can be reused.

Sprint by Wireless Direct has generously offered to donate 50 cents per Latest Smartphones collected to the Clean Commission to help finance special projects in the community. Special projects include financing cleanups of illegal dumps, funding for activities, and programming provided in our Education Center. All services provided to the community by the Clean Commission are free of charge.xc5CGsdh

Please collect your old cell phones and recycle them at one of our collection centers. This will benefit the Earth, Sprint by Wireless Direct and the Cookeville-Putnam County Clean Commission. Buy Cell Phones are collected at the Sprint by Wireless Direct office, 541 S. Willow Ave.; the Clean Commission office, 515 E. Broad St., Suite A, Cookeville; Downtown, 37 N. Cedar Ave., and other locations to be announced. Phones will be collected at the UCDD Community Resource Fair on June 14, at LifeChurch.