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EPA Just Called to Say, "Recycle"- Sony Ericsson to Sponsor Cell Phone Take Back Event at Suncom - Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C.

Release Date: 04/04/2008
Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, [email protected]

(Atlanta, Ga. – April 4, 2008) The nation's leading cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program. Partners supporting the cell phone recycling campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile.

Sony Ericsson is sponsoring a cell phone take back event at the Suncom - Family Circle Cup, a Women’s Tennis Association event in Charleston, S.C. Apr. 12-20, 2008. Last year's event drew a crowd of more than 93,000 attendees. Sony Ericsson's cell phone recycling program for this event runs from March 31 through April 20, the day of the championship match. The Center for Women will receive the donation from recycling profits and agreed to collect cell phones at their offices and during the tennis tournament. For more information, visit http://www.familycirclecup.com/

EPA started the Plug-in to eCycling 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.

Recycling a cell phone offers an opportunity for everyone to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and conserve natural resources. An estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, many languishing in storage. If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year. If consumers were able to reuse those 100 million cell phones, the environmental savings would be even greater, saving enough energy to power more than 370,000 U.S. homes each 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. For example, in 2007 Staples and Office Depot both launched in-store electronics take back programs across the continental U.S. and Sony teamed up with Waste Management Inc. to expand local TV recycling opportunities. Efforts like these have helped the Plug-In program to recycle more than 142 million pounds of electronics since 2003.

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

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