CTIA and ReCellular Bring 40,000 Reasons for Wireless Recycling to CTIA Wireless 2008

LAS VEGAS (PRWEB) March 30, 2008 -- As the official recycling partner of CTIA Wireless 2008, ReCellular will help illustrate the need for increased wireless recycling, which is estimated to be as low as 10 percent of the 150 million phones Americans retire each year.

To illustrate the average number of used cell phones retired every year in the U.S., CTIA and ReCellular will showcase more than 40,000 idled phones in display towers throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center. These phones also illustrate the potential impact if each of the 40,000 attendees at CTIA Wireless 2008 donated just one phone to recycling.

To encourage attendees to participate, CTIA and ReCellular will also offer onsite wireless collection centers throughout hall, enabling attendees to donate their used cell phones and accessories for recycling, and to support the CTIA's Call to Protect® program.

These initiatives are the cornerstones of the "Going Green" theme for CTIA Wireless 2008, intended to help reduce the environmental footprint of both the conference itself and of the entire industry well beyond the closing session.

"We are proud to lend our knowledge and expertise in wireless recycling to help make 'Going Green' at CTIA Wireless 2008 a reality," says Chuck Newman, founder and CEO of ReCellular. "This is a great opportunity to build awareness for recycling, and to support the wireless industry's work to reduce the footprint of our business."

According to David Diggs, vice president of CTIA The Wireless Association, this is a natural extension of the agency's "Wireless...The New Recyclable" initiative:

"Developing a recycling solution for the wireless industry has been a cornerstone of CTIA's mission since we first partnered with ReCellular in 1996. Today, virtually every consumer has access to convenient, no-cost recycling options, including in-store collection points in all 50 States and national mail-in recycling programs. Now, our focus will be building awareness of these wireless recycling options with both our colleagues and our consumers."

ReCellular pioneered the wireless recycling industry, as the first enterprise dedicated to the emerging cell phone market. Today, ReCellular collects 4 million phones per year through corporate, charitable and grassroots collections programs.

Recycling or reusing these used cell phones has a significant benefit to environmental efforts: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, producing 4 million cell phones would consume enough energy to power 7,600 homes for a year, and produce more than 6.8 million kilograms of carbon emissions; According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 4 million phones contains $2.5 million of precious metals -- not factoring the cost of recovery -- including gold, platinum, silver, palladium and copper.

ReCellular and CTIA introduced the industry's first donate-a-phone charitable fundraising program to benefit Call to Protect in 1996. Some of the collected phones are refurbished and donated as 911 phones, to be used as lifelines for domestic violence survivors when faced with an emergency situation. Proceeds from the sale of remaining phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence and are also used to support the educational efforts of the Wireless Foundation.

ReCellular currently works with almost 100 charities across the country, and has raised more than $16 million for non-profit causes.

"ReCellular was founded on the principle that we could build a company that is both socially and environmentally responsible," says Newman. "With the help of partners like CTIA, we have experienced tremendous success, both in terms of recycling efforts and charitable fundraising. Imagine the incredible impact the wireless industry could deliver if recycling increased from 10 percent to just 50 percent of the idled wireless phones every year."

About ReCellular Inc., a global leader in wireless recycling (http://www.recellular.com/recycling/index.asp?campaign=Mar08):

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, charitable, consumer and wholesale information is available at ReCellular.com.

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