ReCellular recycled 5.5 million cell phones in 2008

ReCellular, an electronics-sustainability firm, collected and processed 5.5 million phones for reuse and recycling in 2008. This represents a 35 percent increase year-over-year, reflecting ReCellular’s ongoing efforts to increase the availability and consumer awareness of cell-phone recycling in the United States and Canada.

“This year, we made great progress towards our goal of transforming the lifecycle of a cell phone,” says Chuck Newman, ReCellular CEO.

That progress is documented in the company’s first annual sustainability report, available on their website at www.ReCellular.com/Sustainability.

Highlights of the report include:

• The collection of 5.5 million phones.
• ReCellular donate-a-phone programs raised $4.0 million for charitable causes and grassroots organizations, from local Boy Scout troops to the national Cell Phones for Soldiers program.
• ReCellular recycled 1.2 million pounds of materials, including handsets, batteries, phone chargers and accessories, and paper and plastic shipping materials.
• ReCellular reclaimed 21,000 pounds of copper, 954 pounds of silver, and 96 pounds of gold from recycled circuit boards and electronics accessories.