Calling All Cell Phones: Collection, Reuse, and Recycling Programs in the US
November 2003
Eric Most
(48 pp.,)
The follow-up to INFORM’s 2002 study Waste in the Wireless World: The Challenge of Cell Phones, this report addresses four key programs now under way in the US to collect, refurbish, and recycle used cell phones. It describes the methods these programs employ to recover used phones and assesses the effectiveness of such programs as the primary approach for dealing with cell phone waste in the US. Their revenues and expenses and the ultimate destination of refurbished phones sold abroad are also examined. Includes recommendations for increasing collection rates and improving the programs through greater participation and product designs that encourage reuse and recycling.
If you’re interested in a better future for YOUR old cell phone, you may want to consider these collection programs:
http://www.recyclewirelessphones.com/
Listen to December 11, 2003 interview with author Eric Most, WNYC radio’s Brian Lehrer Show
Read transcript of December 5, 2003 interview with Eric Most, NPR radio’s “Living On Earth”
