Recycled phones to help plant 30,000 trees
10-05-2010
Australians are being urged to recycle their old and broken mobile phones to help protect some of the Nations most endangered species and contribute to rehabilitating two of Australias agricultural heartlands the Murray River and West Australias central-eastern wheatbelt.
MobileMuster has again partnered with Landcare Australia to run its Old Phones, More Trees campaign. For every kilogram of mobiles sent in for recycling between 1 May and World Environment Day on 5 June 2010, a tree will be planted at one of four key project sites including Far Northern Queensland, along the Murray River and WA.
By recycling old mobile phones, Australians will be helping to achieve significant environmental outcomes. These include; restoring native vegetation, protecting endangered species; helping to improve the sustainability of two of the Nations key food growing areas; and recovering and reusing the materials in old mobiles, says Rose Read, manager recycling with MobileMuster.
Endangered species to benefit from the projects are North Queenslands Southern Cassowary, the Kuranda Tree Frog and the Murray Rivers Superb Parrot.
Mobile phones are not biodegradable, but are 90 per cent recyclable. According to the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, there are an estimated 16 million mobile phones lying unused or broken in drawers across Australia that could be recycled.
Over the last four years, Old Phones, More Trees has collected 90,000 kilograms of mobiles and accessories, and planted over 200,000 trees in key projects across Australia.
We know that seven out of 10 Australians have at least one unused mobile that could be recycled and we are setting the bar high for this years collection, says Ms Read.
MobileMuster and Landcare Australia hope to plant 30,000 trees across Australia this year. To meet this target, 30,000 kilograms of mobile phones and accessories must be collected for recycling between 1 May and World Environment Day on 5 June.
The four projects are all considered to be ecological hotspots; supporting populations of rare native fish, birds and vegetation.
Everyone in Australia has a chance to have a positive impact on the habitats of the Southern Cassowary, Kuranda Tree Frog and Superb Parrot and to contribute towards the health of agricultural heartlands, says Heather Campbell, CEO of Landcare Australia.
The mobile phones and accessories recycled through the Old Phones, More Trees program will also achieve significant environmental outcomes.
Recycling 30,000 kilograms of mobile phones will not only see 30,000 trees planted, it will also see 47 tonnes of carbon emissions avoided by reusing recovered materials, says Ms Read.
The material recovered from the recycled mobiles can be used to make stainless steel items, plastic fence posts, jewellery and even new batteries.
Keeping one mobile phone as a spare for emergencies makes sense, but if you have more than one lying around the house its time to put it to work for the environment to achieve three great outcomes, says Ms Read.
Old Phones, More Trees will run from 1 May until World Environment Day on 5 June 2010.
All mobile phones collected by MobileMuster during this period will count towards supplying trees for the Myola Basin (Far North Queensland), Lower Lakes and Barmah-Millewa Forest (The Murray River) and the Wallatin and OBrien catchments (West Australia).
Recycling an old mobile phone is free and easy, simply:
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
Post them in by picking up a free MobileMuster recycling satchel from Australia Post
Post them in by printing off a reply paid mailing label from www.mobilemuster.com.au
About the projects:
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 Australias 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 OBrien Catchments: Wallatin Wildlife and Landcare Inc. 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 states central-eastern wheatbelt. The wheatbelt provides approximately 65 per cent of the states grain supply.
Did you know:
- Over 90 per cent of a mobile phones and its accessories are recyclable, 0 per cent is biodegradable
- 7 out of 10 Australians have at least one old unused mobile phone at home
- There are over 22 million phone subscribers in Australia
- One tonne of mobile phone circuits can yield the same amount of precious metals as 110 tonnes of gold ore, 123 tonnes of silver ore and 11 tonnes of copper sulphide ore
- There are an estimated 16 million unused or broken mobile phones stored at home and work that could be recycled
