Hi there,
I just wanted you to know NextStep Recycling will be on the U of O campus outside the The Duck Store on Monday April 21 from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM to collect obsolete cell phones, PDAs, and iPods from university students, staff, and faculty.

We have collected 479 pounds of cell phones/PDA/iPods in two days. We are looking to collect 2000 pounds of cell phones/PDA/iPods by Saturday April 26th, the end of Earth Week. It is our hope that every U of O student, staff, and faculty member will clear out their drawers and closets and recycle their phones tomorrow!

Did You Know?
According to the US EPA:
* There are approximately 300 million Americans, and 245 million are cell phone users.
* There are an estimated 65 million old cell phones stored annually in U.S., with 8 million in Oregon, 71,500 in Lane County, and 39,000 in the Eugene/Springfield area.
* Approximately 130 million cell phones will be discarded annually in the U.S. alone. Of these, 50 million will be landfilled and 65 million are being stored in people’s desk drawers, closets and/or garages.
* The phones that end up in landfills or incinerators contribute to environmental contamination.
* Cell phones contain toxic substances including arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc, all of which can leach into the soil and groundwater if not properly recycled.
* Cell phones that are incinerated form highly toxic dioxins & furans during the process, which evaporate into the air we breathe.
* These toxins have been associated with cancer and a wide range of reproductive, neurological and developmental disorders.
* The cadmium from a single phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water (2.4 million ounces worth of the various kinds of drinks we consume).
* When one million cell phones are recycled, it saves the planet from greenhouse gases equivalent to driving 1,000+ cars a year.
* Those one million cell phones contain 4 metric tons of gold, which means that more than 3 million metric tons of rocks do not have to be mined to recover that amount of gold.

Working or reusable items will be responsibly handled by NextStep, which is Central Oregon’s largest nonprofit ewaste recycler and refurbisher. NextStep’s overarching mission is to provide working technology to marginalized populations, underfunded schools, and community organizations. To date, NextStep recovered 64% of electronics donated. The remaining 36% was responsibly recycled—a whopping 5+ million pounds of electronics waste!
Respectfully,
Lorraine Kerwood

-About NextStep Recycling
NextStep is a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated to reuse of technology and responsible recycling of obsolete electronics. NextStep’s public education campaign and recycling program is the result of NextStep’s volunteers and staff’s commitment to conserve natural resources and prevent obsolete electronics from entering the solid waste stream. Cell phones collected through the campaign will be recycled or refurbished and gifted or resold when possible with a portion of the proceeds benefiting NextStep’s charitable works. Contributions or gifts to NextStep are tax deductible, talk to your tax advisor. For more information, call Enid at 541-686-2366 118 or visit http://www.nextsteprecycling.org