Eco-cell: Saving the Planet One Cell Phone at a Time

The people of our country have a bad habit of worshipping, that which hurts both our planet and ourselves. Out of all the materialistic idols we serve, none may be more powerful than the almighty cell phone. Unless you are living in a very isolated area, you cannot travel more than a few blocks before seeing a cell phone store or advertisement. Even more incredible is the amount of waste that cell phones produce. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) there were 500 million obsolete cell phones in 2005. The EPA estimates that in 2003 less than one percent of unused phones were recycled. It doesn't take a lot to believe those numbers have increased significantly over the last few years. The amount of e-waste being produced is staggering.

E-waste is not the only problem the lack of recycling is causing. The increased demand for newer and better products drives the need for the ore Coltan. Coltan is an ore used to coat cell phone components and is found in the Congo. The natives who mine the ore have been killing off endangered gorilla and elephant habitats. If something is not done there is a strong possibility these habitats will become extinct.

Someone needed to take action and that's where Eric Ronay and his company Eco-Cell (www.eco-cell.com) come in. Eric started the company three years ago and the company had a strong start recycling 9,000 phones in their first year. In 2008 they were able to recycle over 60,000 phones. According to Eric, half of the phones are melted down to recycle the metals and the other half are refurbished for sale. The income produced by the refurbished phones goes back into the conservation efforts. None of the phones or components goes to waste as Eco-Cell is committed to keeping every phone they receive out of the landfills.