Recycle Your Old Phone

Mackenzie District Council has started a campaign to keep old mobile phones out of landfill and raise money for Starship Children’s Hospital at the same time.

Until the end of February, collection boxes for old mobile phones will be placed at the council offices in Fairlie and Twizel, at public libraries in Fairlie and Twizel, at the Tekapo Information Centre, the Mount Cook DOC Visitor Centre and at the Resource Recovery Parks in Fairlie, Tekapo and Twizel.

At the end of the collection, all donated old mobile phones will be sent to the Starship Mobile Phone Appeal. The Starship Mobile Phone Appeal has been going for four years and has raised more than two million dollars to help fund the Starship National Air Ambulance Service. This essential service flies medical experts to life threatening emergencies involving children, anywhere in New Zealand, and is on call 24/7, 365 days a year.

Some of the old phones are refurbished and sold cheaply in emerging markets, while others go through a process that recovers and recycles 95% of the component materials.

Angie Taylor says any old phone is welcome and it doesn’t matter if it still works or not. Chargers are also welcome. Old phones and batteries contain potentially hazardous substances and recycling keeps these away from landfill sites.

“I hope this will provide a chance for people to clear out their old phones and at the same time keep them out of landfill and help raise money for Starship.”

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