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Health & Fitness

Give Back to the Planet by Recycling Old Cell Phones

Thursday was America Recycles Day—here are some ideas to carry on the spirit of the occasion.

This past Thursday (Nov. 15) was America Recycles Day, and in the spirit of the occasion, there’s a simple and easy way for all of us to pitch in and help the environment: by recycling old cell phones.

Chances are you have an old BlackBerry or flip phone stowed in your desk drawer. Or you’ve been hanging on to a car charger which no longer powers your new device. Now is the perfect time to scour through your drawers and closets, and HopeLine is the perfect vehicle to help you recycle these no-longer-used wireless devices and accessories.

Started by Verizon Wireless over a decade ago, HopeLine has properly disposed of more than 1.72 million phones in an environmentally sound way and kept more than 210 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of community landfills. HopeLine accepts no-longer-used phones and other wireless devices in any condition and from any manufacturer or service provider. The phones can be dropped off at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store or put in the mail with a postage-paid label, and the company will dispose of these devices in an environmentally sound way.

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As part of the refurbishing process, HopeLine scrubs all donated phones to ensure customer information is removed. Verizon Wireless also recommends that consumers scrub their wireless phones before donating their devices to the HopeLine program. Here are some easy tips on wiping a phone:

  1. Ensure that the phone’s service and account has been terminated by contacting your wireless provider’s customer support department.
  2. Log out of all social networking sites, email accounts, wireless networks and applications, erasing all evidence of password information.
  3. Remove and store the device’s SIM/memory card in a safe place.
  4. Erase contacts from your address book, delete call logs, erase messages, and remove your stored photos, videos and other media. This can be done manually; in addition, check out your phone’s manual on the device’s website to find out how to reset the device back to its factory settings.

Help conserve the earth's natural resources and prevent spent batteries and old cellphones from clogging up our landfills by recycling through HopeLine.

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