Non-profit organizations
reuse thousands of phones
Recycle for Breast Cancer
and CollectiveGood are
collecting cell phones to
raise money for charities
By Caron Alarab
News Reporter
To help decrease the world's over
abundance of cell phone garbage, some
non-profit organizations have made re
cycling cell phones a quick and easy
process through Web sites, pre-paid
postage labels and drop-off locations.
"There are billions of phones in peo
ples' kitchen drawers and office desks,"
said Larry Behrens, program director of
Recycle for Breast Cancer. "Now they
have no excuses."
More than 128 million Americans
use cell phones, and on average they are
replaced every 18 months, according to
INFORM Inc., an environmental re
search organization.
Consequently, more than one mil
lion cell phones are tossed out each
week in the United States, according
to the Sierra Club, the largest grass
roots environmental organization in
the country.
Nathaniel NT, co-director of the Uni
versity Survival Center, has spent the
last two years working with the Univer
sity to create a recycling infrastructure
for mobile electronics.
And although he has never owned a
cell phone, he said he would never
throw one away to end up in a landfill.
"Cell phone contaminants don't get
broken down in landfills," he said.
“Those toxins end up in the water we
drink and the air we breathe." But or
ganizations like Recycle for Breast Can
cer and CollectiveGood are doing more
than just reducing cell phone waste in
American landfills. They also donate
phones and proceeds to good causes,
such as developing communities and
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Staples, located on West 11th Avenue, is collecting cell phones and PDAs to be recycled.
breast cancer research.
Recycle for Breast Cancer makes a
donation to breast cancer research for
every phone recycled or reused through
the program.
Behrens, 39, started the non-profit
program to provide a way for people to
donate to a good cause without reach
ing into their wallets or paychecks.
"We don't just recycle these items for
the sake of recycling," he said. "We re
cycle them to raise money."
Having known many friends and
family affected by breast cancer, Behrens
chose to donate all proceeds to the Su
san G. Komen Breast Cancer Founda
tion. For more information about the
foundation, visit www.komen.org.
Although the "meat" of the program
lies in cell phone and printer cartridge re
cycling, Behrens said the company may
soon consider different products.
"As the program grows, we are consid
ering other items, like pagers," he said.
Through Recycle for Breast Cancer's
Web site, www.recycleforbreast
cancer.com, the program sends tiny
mailing boxes to donators, along with
packing material and a pre-paid
postage sticker, making it easy for any
one in the United States to participate.
"It's the best method of collection
we've been able to come up with," he
said. "And it's something people can do
all year round."
Atlanta, Ga., native Seth Heine had a
similar idea in 1999 when he estab
lished CollectiveGood, an Internet col
lection program that reuses and recycles
old cell phones.
Heine, 35, had been working for a
cell phone carrier in Latin America
when he realized the majority of the
population couldn't afford a cell phone
or even a land line. After talking to
friends in the United States, he also
found that everyone he knew had an
old phone somewhere at home.
When he learned that cell phones
contain the same toxic components
as computers, everything clicked.
"CollectiveGood is a really cool
opportunity to take this huge envi
ronmental problem and turn it on
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Stronger Together
The Classified Staff of the University of Oregon and the six
other public institutions represented by SEIU 503 recently
reached a two-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the
Oregon University System.
Congratulations to classified workers for bringing intelligence, passion
and action to the bargaining process and for standing firm on workers’
rights to accessible health care, to work site organizing, to a safe and
healthy workplace, and to future job security. Thank you also to the
community partners who loudly and clearly supported our bargaining
issues, including the GTFF, GCIU, the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity
Network, the Teamsters union, and concerned UO faculty, students and
Oregon state legislators.
Looking towards the future,,.
• We remain concerned that state employees face a two-year wage
freeze and continued attacks on earned retirement benefits.
• We remain troubled by the anti-worker proposals of OUS
representatives during bargaining.
• We will continue to advocate for employer-paid family health benefits
for all workers in the university system.
• We recognize the need to create sustainable funding for higher
education while preventing tuition increases beyond students’ and
parents’ means.
The classified workers at the University of Oregon
are the people you see every day cleaning, mowing,
computing, advising, reviewing, cooking, washing,
monitoring, planning and implementing to sustain
the academic mission of students, faculty members
and administrators. Thank you for your support!
LOCAL 503
SEIU
turn
SAVE THE DATE:
December 10
Right to Organize Day of Action
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