Protect our environment by recycling your old mobile

Help stop 16 million old mobiles phones ending up in Australian landfills by recycling your old mobile phones, batteries and accessories at over 1,600 free MobileMuster drop-off points across Australia.

MobileMuster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry is the only industry managed electronic product recycling program in the world and wants to prevent mobile phones going into landfill.

The recycling program aims to boost collection numbers and raise community awareness through thousands of drop-off points including mobile phone retailers Telstra, Optus World, Vodafone, 3 Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Fone Zone, Allphones and Crazy Johns , as well as 160 councils and participating Sydney Credit Union and ANZ branches. Companies in other countries have similar programs, sites like www.o2.co.uk in the UK and its counterparts around Europe and the US all participate in some kind of program. They have become as ubiquitous as they are important.

Rose Read, Manager of Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association’s (AMTA) recycling program, MobileMuster, says it is important for people to recycle their old mobile phones as they are not biodegradable. Also older nickel cadmium batteries may leach small quantities of potentially harmful heavy metals such as cadmium into the environment.

“Over 90% of the plastics and metals mobile phones, batteries and accessories recovered during recycling can be turned into jewellery, stainless steel products and plastic fence posts.

“By recycling your old mobile phone, Australians are conserving our scarce natural resources and saving energy by recovering and reusing metals and plastics to make new products rather then virgin materials,” said Ms Read.

Since the relaunch of the mobile phone recycling program in December 2005, MobileMuster has seen an increase in consumer awareness of recycling and as a consequence a rise in collections.

Since July last year, Australians have recycled more than 42,000kgs of handsets, batteries and accessories. This includes over 256,000 handsets and batteries and 22,000kg in accessories.

This brings the total volume of mobiles collected to over 410,000kg, including 2.38 million handsets and batteries, and over 170,000kg of accessories.

“It is very much a case of think globally and act locally. We encourage Australians to collectively contribute towards protecting our precious environment,” added Ms Read.

MobileMuster aims to raise community participation, treble recycling levels to 1.5 million mobile phones and batteries a year by 2008 and prevent mobiles ending up in landfill.

What can I do?

If you have an old mobile phone, battery or accessory, take it to one of 1,600 free MobileMuster drop-off points across Australia, including mobile phone retailers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, Crazy Johns, FoneZone as well as 130 councils and participating Sydney Credit Union and ANZ branches.

I want to recycle now!

For more information or to locate your nearest MobileMuster drop-off point visit www.mobilemuster.com.au or contact 1300 730 070.

Key mobile phone recycling facts

• Australians upgrade or exchange their mobile phones every 18 to 24 months, resulting in approximately 16 million old mobile phones cluttering people’s homes and offices across Australia, of which 4 million no longer work.
• 8.1 million handsets were shipped into Australia in 2005
• 410 tonnes of handsets, batteries and accessories have been collected since the MobileMuster program commenced through AMTA in 2005. This includes 2.38 million batteries and handsets.
• One tonne of mobile phone circuits can yield the same amount of precious metals as 110 tonnes of gold ore, 123 tonnes of silver bearing ore and 11 tonnes of copper sulphide ore.