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Community Corner

Giving Your Old Phone a New Purpose

By Marquett Smith, president of the Washington/Baltimore/Virginia Region for Verizon Wireless

This November 15th, communities across the country will celebrate America Recycles Day by taking the pledge to recycle more. As thousands of people commit to making recycling a habit, consider adding your old cell phone to the list of items you can save from the landfill. 

Paper, plastic and glass are usually top of mind when it comes to recycling, but as cell phone use continues to grow, so do the number of old devices that are tossed into drawers and boxes.  According to the latest findings by the Pew Research Center, for the first time, cell phone ownership among adults has exceeded 90% and use among teens is strong, with 78% now owning a cell phone. Also on the rise is the rate at which consumers replace their old mobile devices, yet the EPA reports they are only recycled at a rate of 11 percent.

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Verizon Wireless makes it easy to recycle your no-longer-used cell phones and accessories. Our device recycling program, HopeLine, accepts old cell phones and wireless equipment in any condition and from any manufacturer, to be recycled, reused or resold, with the proceeds benefitting domestic violence prevention organizations.  All local stores have HopeLine recycling bins for convenient drop-off.  We also offer free, postage-paid labels for download at: http://aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/HopeLineLabel.pdf to mail your old equipment directly to our recycler.

Over the past decade, more than 10 million phones have been collected through HopeLine, more than $18 million in cash grants has been awarded to domestic violence prevention groups nationwide, and more than 150,000 phones have been provided to survivors to offer a safe and reliable means to contact emergency services in times of crisis and stay connected with employers, family and friends. In addition, HopeLine has recycled 1.7 million wireless phones and kept more than 260 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of landfills.

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This America’s Recycles Day, turn in your old wireless equipment to Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine.  Your contribution will help protect our environment and, at the same time, empower domestic violence victims to become survivors.

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