Credit: Dara Olmsted
New cell phone recycling box
Where in Harvard Square can you see mobile phones from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint in one place? When they’re recycled, of course. They have come together in the basement of the Science Center, where the FAS Green Program has installed a new cell phone recycling bin.
The bin was donated to the University by the Wireless Alliance, an organization that collects used cell phones for refurbishment, reuse, or recycling. The average cell phone is only used for about eighteen months, and it is estimated that over 150 million cell phones will be thrown away this year alone. Those cell phones make their way to landfills, where toxic materials can leak out from the phones into groundwater, endangering local environments and the people that live in them.
So recycle your old cell phone instead! If you are worried about others gaining access to information on your phone, you can erase data with the help of this site:
http://www.recellular.com/recycling/data_eraser/default.asp
The Office for Sustainability will also be posting green tips on the side of the bin, conveniently located in the basement lobby next to the pay phones, on the way to Technology Services and the Freshmen Mail Center.
If you would like to have a cell phone recycling bin in your own building, contact Harvard Recycling or the Office for Sustainability. Learn more about the Wireless Alliance at http://thewirelessalliance.com/
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it is estimated that over 150 million cell phones will be thrown away this year alone