Recycle Your Cellphone Answer the Call of the Wild Ever wonder what happens to your old cell phones? At least 100 million of them will end up in landfills all over North America this year. In addition many households have at least two old phones in a drawer forgotten and collecting dust because people are not sure where they can dispose of them safely. The Calgary Zoo, together with Eco-cell, a company dedicated to keeping harmful electronic waste out of our landfills, is pleased to announce that you can now bring these unwanted phones, pagers and other cell phone accessories to the Calgary Zoo where they will be recycled free of charge!

By answering the call of the wild and bringing your unwanted cell phones to us you are helping save Gorillas and other animals half a world away, all without leaving the comforts of your own city! Believe it or not your cell phone is connected to the overall well-being of these animals in Central Africa. Inside each and every cell phone manufactured world wide is a rare ore called Coltan (short for columbite-tantalite). This metal is mined in Central Africa and as demands for it increase world wide more valuable habitat is being destroyed everyday.

You may be shocked to learn that the habitat suffering most from these mining operations is protected land in wildlife reserves, and not land set aside for industrial use. As our need for new and more exciting technology increases, illegal mining in these areas has become more popular and with it a growing pressure due to hunting for food on the native species, especially gorilla and elephant, has resulted in the near extinction of these animals in the regions being mined.

Thankfully it is not too late to help these species by further protecting their natural habitats. Every obsolete or unwanted cell phone you drop off at the Calgary Zoo helps us provide funds to organizations working in Africa to protect these beautiful animals and their homes. For every phone we send Eco-cell they in turn donate funds to our conservation efforts. Not only are you helping save gorillas in the wild but you are also helping to protect our environment right here in Calgary by keeping these phones and the toxic materials in them (antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper and lead to name a few) out of our landfills. Every phone donated is either reused, or completely recycled, no part enters a landfill anywhere.

The Calgary Zoo currently has two drop off locations, at the Guest Services Desk in the Discovery Centre at the North Gates, and at the collection box located in the gorilla observation area in the Transalta Rainforest Building. For more information we invite you to come down to the zoo and talk with our interpretive staff, take in a nature tales show during the summer months or e-mail us at lisam@calgaryzoo.ab.ca.

Thank you Calgary for helping us recycle 2505 phones in 2007. So far, to mid-March, we've recycled another 500 cell phones in 2008. Will you help us by answering the call of the wild in 2008?

Every little bit helps!

You can visit the Eco-cell web site here.