The Greening of Gavin

Old Phones = More Trees

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As I have mentioned before about the electronic waste problems that are mounting at this post here, I mentioned that mobile phones are able to be recycled in Australia.  However the problem is that many phone owners do not know what to do with them or how to dispose of them once they have out lived their usefulness.

Here is a great idea and campaign details that have been sent to me by my friends at MobileMuster (thanks Victoria!).

MobileMuster is Australia’s official not-for-profit mobile phone recycling program. Over the weekend, MobileMuster launched its annual campaign, ‘Old Phones, More Trees’ in partnership with Landcare Australia. 2010 is the fourth year MobileMuster and Landcare Australia have partnered together for the campaign, and to date they have collected over 90,000 kilograms of phones and planted over 200,000 trees.
This year, the aim is to collect 30,000 kilograms of mobiles (approximately 100,000 handset with their batteries and accessories) for 30,000 trees. For every kilogram of mobile phones and accessories recycled through MobileMuster between 1 May and World Environment Day on 5 June, a tree will be planted in one of four Landcare Australia projects.
The four key projects that will benefit from ‘Old Phones, More Trees’ are:
QLD – Myola Basin: Kuranda Envirocare will be planting as many as 7,500 different species of trees as part of the Envirolink Corridor to conserve and repair degraded rainforests in this ecological haven. The area acts as a critical buffer for the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and is home to the endangered Kuranda Tree Frog and Southern Cassowary.
NSW/VIC– Barmah-Millewa Forest: The Barmah-Millewa Forest is one of Australia’s most unique wetland areas and is home to the iconic River Red Gum and endangered Superb Parrot. The project will be overseen by the Superb Parrot Project Group who will be planting as many as 7,500 trees including the majestic river red gums to create future foraging sites for the Superb Parrot and contribute to the overall health of the Murray River.
SA – Lower Lakes: The Lower Lakes area is home to rare native fish, birds and plants. The Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Board will work with local communities to plant as many as 7,500 trees that will help protect and restore the biodiversity and improve the sustainability of the lower lakes area.
WA – Wallatin and O’Brien Catchments: Wallatin Wildlife and Landcare Group will be planting as many as 7,500 mallee trees to tackle the loss of biodiversity, declining water quality and rising soil salinity of the state’s central-eastern wheatbelt. The wheatbelt provides approximately 65 per cent of the states grain supply.
Recycling your old mobile phone with MobileMuster this month will achieve three significant environmental outcomes:
1) Restoring native vegetation and protecting the habitat of endangered species, such as the Superb Parrot
2) Improving the sustainability of one of the Nation’s key food growing areas, the Murray River
3) Recovering and reusing the materials in your old mobile
Mobile phones are not biodegradable, but are 90 per cent recyclable. The material recovered from the recycled mobiles can be used to make stainless steel items, plastic fence posts, jewellery and even new batteries.

With an estimated 14 to 16 million old and unused phones stashed away in cupboards and drawers at home and work in Australia alone, there is a massive opportunity to recycle and get more trees into the ground to sequester CO2.
Recycling an old mobile phone is free and easy, simply:
  1. Drop them off at your mobile phone retailer / local collection point – to find out where go to www.mobilemuster.com.au or call 1300 730 070
  2. Post them in by picking up a free MobileMuster recycling satchel from Australia Post
  3. Post them in by printing off a reply paid mailing label from www.mobilemuster.com.au
So what are you waiting for?  Dig out those old handsets and chargers and send them in for recycling before June 5th, and get a tree planted by the project.  I am sure there is a kilo of old handsets laying around somewhere!

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

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