More cellphones kept out of landfills
Good news for the environment: AT&T and Cell Phones For Soldiers (CPFS) have recycled more than 2.5 million wireless devices since Earth Day 2008, beating their Earth Day 2009 goal by more than 700,000 phones.
CPFS recycles used cellphones and uses the proceeds to buy free phone cards for U.S. troops overseas.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 10 percent of tossed cellphones are recycled. CPFS’s recycling partner, ReCellular, estimates that recycling 2.5 million phones has prevented more than 153 tons of e-waste from entering landfills, the environmental equivalent of:
• Saving enough energy to power nearly 7,709 U.S. households for a year;
• Avoiding the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as removing more than 5,546 passenger cars from the roads for a year;
• And keeping more than four tons of toxic materials out of landfills.
Wireless customers of any carrier can drop off used cellphones and accessories at any AT&T store nationwide or download free shipping labels at att.com/recyclewireless.