The Benefits of Recycling

Each year millions of cell phones, printer cartridges, MP3 players, and other hand-held electronic devices (collectively called “E-waste”) are discarded by American consumers. Many of these items are simply thrown into the trash where they end up in landfills and where they become toxic waste that can leach into soil and water making them hazardous to all living things. Get Green to Get Green works to keep these items out of landfills and to turn them into usable products once again.

Used cell phones, and other electronic items all have value in the resale or recycling market place. Get Green to Get Green is able to pay for every phone because it finds a way to reuse every item in some way. Newer items in working condition can be refurbished and resold. For example, most of the phones sold on prepaid plans or those provided by insurance providers are refurbished phones. Items that cannot be refurbished are often sold for their parts, which are then used to repair older phones sold in other countries. All other materials are sold as scrap, where they are melted down in eco-friendly smelters and then reused to make new products. Refurbishing, reusing, or recycling materials uses much less energy than building items from new. So by recycling these items you help care for the ecology in many ways.

RECYCLING FACTS

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in 2005, between 1.5 and 1.9 tons of discarded electronics ended up in American landfills. The Computer Takeback Campaign reports that 130 million cell phones are thrown away every year.

THROWING AWAY MONEY!

Not only are we throwing away things that should be recycled, we are throwing away money. That’s why we’re here! Get Green to Get Green is committed to joining with you to keep our planet green and healthy. We do that by reusing or recycling those cellphones that are in your (and your neighbors’) junk drawers! Raise funds while you green up the earth.

What do you do with your old cell phone when you get a new one? 130 million cell phones are thrown away every year. That would be at least 32 million dollars worth of scrap and refurbished cell phones that could be going to organizations like yours. Get Green provides the winning combination of a great community service project and an easy turn-key “NO COST” fundraiser.

Base metals like copper, nickel and lead are used to recover or ‘collect’ precious and other secondary metals as part of Hoboken’s complex recycling and refining operation. Precious metals like palladium, platinum, rhodium, gold or silver connect themselves to copper just like special metals like indium, bismuth, selenium or tellurium are found in conjunction with lead. Photo from Umicore.com

E-Waste Management and Pollution Prevention Policy

Mission Statement

Get Green to Get Green does everything in its power to actively protect the environment by efficiently recycling all electronic waste (E-waste). By recycling, reusing, or refurbishing cell phones and other items we protect our nations landfills and water supplies from often toxic waste created by the wireless industry. Get Green to Get Green is committed to preserving our environment and serving our customers.

Management Policy

Get Green to Get Green was founded on the principle of environmental protection. Keeping cell phone components out of landfills is a priority for us. In addition, our printed materials are made from recycled paper using eco-friendly methods. We continually look for ways to lower our carbon footprint and waste products. We are always working to improve our pollution prevention performance and welcome suggestions for how to make our efforts more eco-friendly.

All materials returned to us are used in one of three ways: (1) refurbished, (2) reused as parts, or (3) recycled as scrap. Newer working phones are refurbished and used by insurers as replacement phones, or sold as pre-paid phones. Newer phones not in working order are parted out and used to create new working phones that are often sold as pre-paid phones or sold in markets where the demand is still great. All phones and parts that cannot be refurbished or reused are sold to certified smelters that assure complete disposal of the material with minimum on the environment. No E-waste is shipped to landfills or incinerators directly or through intermediaries. All components are sold through certified dealers to prevent electronic scrap from being dumped in underdeveloped countries.

The Get Green to Get Green environmental management plan is constantly being upgraded to improve our effective response to the changing international marketplace. Please contact us at info@getgreentogetgreen.com with specific questions regarding our practices.