We invite you and your staff to bring in any personal, unwanted cell phones, BlackBerrys, and PDAs and drop them in a convenient recycle box (Locations Below).

Did you know over 130 million cell phones are retired every year in the United States, yet less than 20% of the phones get recycled? If all of these cell phones were recycled, the energy savings alone would be staggering – enough to power more than 257,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year. In addition the following precious metals could be recovered: 3.9 metric tons of gold; 2,100 metric tons of copper; 46 metric tons of silver; and 2 metric tons of palladium.¹

Letter from Dan Beard (PDF)

Steps To Donate Your Personal Cell Phone or Blackberry

Prior to donating or recycling your cell phone, there are three steps to take:

1. Terminate your service if applicable.
2. Clear the phone’s memory of contacts and other stored information,
   • Manually delete all information; and
   • Follow instructions in product manual for how to conduct a factory hard reset, or contact your local phone store for instructions; or
   • Use data erasing tools that are available on the web. One tool can be found at website http://www.wirelessrecycling.com, look for phone data eraser.
3. Remove your SIM card and shred or cut it in half. If you are not sure if your phone uses a SIM card or if you need assistance removing your SIM card contact your service provider or the manufacturer.

All work phones/BlackBerrys that need to be returned should be brought to the attention of the staff member in your office responsible for telecommunications equipment.

LOCATION OF COLLECTION BOXES

Personal cell phones may be dropped off in collection boxes located in:

• Green the Capitol Office; Longworth B-208
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s Office; Rayburn 2267
• Rep. Jay Inslee’s Office; Cannon 403
• Rep. Brad Miller’s Office; Longworth 1722
• Rep. Christopher Shays' Office; Longworth 1126
• Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming; Longworth B234

Permanent Locations on the Capitol Campus: If you miss this event, there are also permanent collection sites in the Longworth House Office Supply Store and in the Ford H2-124 vending area collection site, where you can drop off all electronics, including batteries and toner cartridges, to be recycled year-round. Additional toner-only bins are located outside the Cannon Carryout (vending area) and Outside the Rayburn Cafeteria, between cafeteria exit and interior courtyard by newspaper vending machines.

In your District Office: Many cell phone retailers, manufacturers and network carriers offer cell phone recycling programs where you can drop off or mail-in your unwanted cell phone. Used cell phone can be dropped off at the time of purchase or brought in at a time convenient to the user. These programs also offer prepaid, mail-in envelopes, found in the original cell phone packaging, obtained at the place of purchase, or prepaid labels that can be printed off the internet.

Your Constituents: Your constituents would be interested in learning how easy cell phone recycling has become. Most major cell phone retailers, manufacturers and network providers offer free cell phone recycling for any make, model or age of phone. In addition, charitable organizations can establish cell phone and ink cartridge recycling programs which can bring important dollars to their organizations.

For more information please contact Alli Rogers at 5-1087.

¹ Metals statistics are from: US Geological Survey “Recycled Cell Phones - A Treasure Trove of Valuable Metals” (July 2006) Recycling rate of less than 20% is from: US EPA "Management of Electronic Waste in the United States" (April 2007) The benefits calculator for the energy saving statistic can be found at "Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator".