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Motorola Races to Recycle During Boston’s 14th Annual Earthfest, Memorial Day Weekend
BOSTON, Mass., May 16, 2007 – Motorola is encouraging Bostonians to clean out their closets and recycle their cell phones on May 26, during Earthfest, a large outdoor music and environmental event held at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston.
Motorola, promoting their Race to Recycle program, is a key event sponsor at the 14th annual Earthfest.
The Race to Recycle program, a first-of-its-kind effort by a cell phone manufacturer to recycle retired phones, provides convenient recycling options that benefit K-12 schools in the US. Motorola Challenges Schools and Communities Nationwide to get involved in cell phone recycling.
The Race to Recycle program enables accredited K-12 schools in the U.S. to earn cash by collecting retired cell phones in their community. Schools can earn $3.00 per intact phone, up to $21,000 per calendar year. Phones from all manufacturers are accepted.
Motorola accepts registrations for the program at www.motorola.com/racetorecycle.
To help registered schools with their collections, Motorola provides collection boxes, mailing labels, posters and other support materials. Schools can send in collected phones at any time, and will receive payment within four weeks. Funds received can be used as the school chooses.
“We think it’s great that Motorola takes an active interest in cell phone recycling” Said Linda Corteen, Principal of John L. Husmann Elementary School of Crystal Lake, Illinois. “The Race to Recycle program is not only a simple way to raise funds, but also a nice hands-on program to encourage our students to learn about proper recycling behavior.” Husmann Elementary has participated in a trial of the program over the past six months. They’ve earned nearly $1,500, helping them purchase new overhead projectors for their classrooms.
One in three Americans will replace their cell phones this year, with the majority of these added to the estimated 500 million unused cell phones waiting to be either recycled or discarded.
Approximately half of the phones Motorola’s recycling company, ReCellular, Inc., collects will be reused – considered the ultimate form of recycling. Functional phones are reconditioned and reprogrammed before being sold to wholesalers from more than 40 countries.
Phones that cannot be resold are dismantled and recycled. ReCellular expects to recycle 1 million pounds of scrap phones and accessories this year, working with recycling partners to reclaim valuable materials, including:
150,000 pounds of copper: An estimated 450 miles of phone chargers will be recycled, containing enough to replace the copper shell of the Statue of Liberty, twice.
$630,000 worth of precious metals: More than 1 million circuit boards will be recycled, each containing an average of $0.63 of precious metals, not factoring the cost of recovery, according the U.S. Geological Survey. By this estimate, the 500 million phones available for recycling contain $314 million worth of rare metals.
Motorola also provides free recycling programs for consumers:
1. Postage pre-paid packets are included in many of Motorola’s new phone models. Consumers can put their old phone in the provided packet and drop it in the mailbox for recycling.
2. Printable postage pre-paid shipping labels are also available at www.motorola.com/racetorecycle. These can be affixed to a packet or box and can be used send in one or many phones (up to 70 lbs) for recycling.
A portion of proceeds from both of these programs goes back to the schools participating in the Race to Recycle School Fundraising program.
About Earthfest:
EarthFest is A FREE CONCERT FOR BOSTON, Saturday, May 26, 2007 at DCR Hatch Shell. Presented by Whole Foods Market and free to the public, the 14th Annual WBOS EarthFest is a celebration for the Earth showcasing environmentally friendly products, groups, and activities. WBOS EarthFest, which is produced in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, will also feature an interactive family area. Visit www.eartfest.com more details.
About Motorola:
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of Seamless Mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you get and stay connected simply and seamlessly to the people, information, and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $36.8 billion in 2005. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit www.motorola.com. For information about Race to Recycle please visit www.racetorecycle.com.
About ReCellular Inc.:
With offices in the United States, Hong Kong, and Brazil, ReCellular Inc. is the world’s foremost collector, reseller and recycler of used wireless phones and accessories. We provide solutions for the collection, reuse and recycling of used personal electronics that generate financial return for our partners, quality products for our customers, funding for charity organizations, and protection of the environment. Corporate and wholesale information is available at www.ReCellular.com. Consumer information, including collection sites and charity fundraising details, is available at www.wirelessrecycling.com.
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. The Bluetooth trademarks are owned by their proprietor and used by Motorola, Inc. under license. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. ©Motorola, Inc. 2006. All rights reserved.