CTIA-The Wireless Association® Recognizes America Recycles Day 2007

November 14, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – America Recycles Day 2007 is tomorrow, November 15th, and CTIA-The Wireless Association® and its member companies will recognize this important day by reminding wireless consumers to recycle their used wireless devices and accessories. 
 
“These days, many Americans are ‘going green’ and taking measures to reduce, reuse and recycle in their daily lives,” said CTIA-The Wireless Association® President and CEO, Steve Largent. “America Recycles Day is a great reminder for the more than 250 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. to reduce their carbon footprint by recycling their old cell phones and accessories.” 

The wireless industry began its nationwide recycling campaign called “Wireless…The New Recyclable,” in 2003. The public outreach and awareness campaign provides wireless consumers with information about the importance and ease of recycling wireless devices. The centerpiece of the campaign is an in-store phone take-back program that allows consumers to bring their used wireless devices to carrier retail outlets for recycling purposes.  You can learn more about this program by visiting www.recyclewirelessphones.com.

“Millions of phones have been collected and kept out of landfills thanks to the wireless industry’s commitment to wireless recycling and the maintenance of successful, consumer friendly recycling programs,” continued Largent. “Thousands of drop-off locations, including every major wireless carrier retail store, collect all makes and models of wireless phones, accessories and chargers, making it easy for consumers across the country to participate in wireless recycling.”

In recent years, the wireless recycling movement has expanded beyond carrier retail stores and can now be seen in many well-known businesses and on the Internet. Major retailers such as The Body Shop and Best Buy have established wireless recycling campaigns.

• Important tips to remember before recycling wireless phones:
  Terminate your service.
• Clear the phone’s memory of contacts and other stored personal information by utilizing the Cell Phone Data Eraser at http://wirelessrecycling.com/home/data_eraser/.
• Remove your phone’s SIM card, if it has one. Phones that operate on GSM networks use SIM cards. If you are not sure if your phone uses a SIM card or if you need assistance removing your SIM card, contact your wireless provider. 

# # #
CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org