Don't recycle your CDMA mobile at a Telstra store!

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 21 April 2008 13:18

Opinion and Analysis

Telstra’s media spokesperson, Peter Taylor, said that: “CDMA customers around the country are upgrading to the Next G network and it's vitally important that old CDMA handsets are recycled, rather ending up in landfill.”

Taylor continued: "CDMA mobile phones won't work anywhere in Australia once the network shuts down on 28 April 2008, so there's no point tucking away an old CDMA handset in a car glove box or kitchen drawer for future use.”

Taylor ended by noting that: "All Telstra Shops and dealers will accept old mobile phones and accessories, regardless of age or condition. Dropping off an old CDMA handset for recycling is quick and easy, and customers will be doing their bit for the environment.”

Taylor is, of course, right. If you can’t drop your phone off at a school, then a Telstra store – or other MobileMuster recycling ‘centre’, is also an ideal spot to recycle your old phones, rather than dumping them or keeping them in a bottom drawer somewhere.

Dumping them in landfill is a no-no because phones are not biodegradable and contain chemical compounds that can damage the environment.

So what happens when MobileMuster gets them – no matter where they get them from? Phones and batteries will be “melted down and recycled into new products”. Useful by-products of mobile phone recycling include:

Nickel - used in the production of stainless steel
Cadmium - used in new batteries
Gold and silver - used in jewellery
Plastics - used in plastic fence posts

So, if you can manage it – and there is still plenty of time – why not investigate getting a MobileMuster program up and running at your local school?