Used cell phone? Let’s have it!
- Cell phones can be returned for a good cause at the IFA 2009.
Used cell phones shouldn't end up in the garbage bin! Environmentally conscious visitors can hand in their used cell phones including batteries and chargers free of charge on the Deutsche Telekom stand. And so they’ll be preserving the environment while also supporting the environmental non-profit association Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.
Deutsche Telekom is steadfastly committed to developing sustainable products and services as well as the eco-friendly disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment. Visitors to the IFA 2009 can hand in their used cell phones including batteries and chargers free of charge on the stand, thus playing an active part in protecting the environment, with a little helping hand from Deutsche Telekom.
The cell phones are not thrown away: a recycling company carefully checks the cell phones that have been returned to establish whether they work, are complete or can be reused. Faulty cell phones will be disassembled into the constituent materials so each component (plastics and metals) can be recycled in a resource-friendly manner and sensibly reused. Cell phones that work will be separated out and refurbished. Only refurbished, fully working used cell phones will be passed onto third markets.
The reason: cell phones contain not only valuable precious metals like silver, gold or palladium but also heavy metals like cadmium or lead. The professional reprocessing would thus both recover scarce precious metals and safely dispose of the heavy metals. In 2008, more than 69,000 used cell phones were recycled or reused. And for the environment it is a win-win situation: for each handset that is returned, T-Mobile will donate a set amount to Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., an environmental non-profit association that has been working together closely with T-Mobile Deutschland since 2000. As part of this environmental partnership, T-Mobile has already sponsored more than 300 domestic and international nature conservancy projects as well as municipal environmental projects.
But the IFA is not the only place you can return cell phones. Customers can hand in their used cell phones free of charge for appropriate disposal or reuse in all Telekom Shops in Germany. Special return postage bags are also available which can be used to send discarded cell phones, batteries and chargers for free to the recycling partner companies used by Deutsche Telekom. Further information is available on the T-Mobile website under Environmental protection and then clicking on "Environment and Sustainability".
About Deutsche Telekom AG Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with more than 150 million mobile customers, about 40 million fixed-network lines and nearly 17 million broadband lines (as of June 30, 2009). Its product brands are T-Home (fixed-network telephony, broadband Internet), T-Mobile (mobile communications), and