Mobiles recycled for charity (From Witney Gazette)

Mobiles recycled for charity

8:34am Monday 12th February 2007 in Witney

SHOPPERS are being encouraged to donate their old mobile phones, while stocking up on their groceries.

The Midcounties Co-operative store in Carterton is playing its part in a county-wide 'mobile phone amnesty', to raise funds for the charity Help An Oxfordshire Child.

And helping get the appeal off the ground, are staff at the Witney-based Cottsway Housing Association, who brought 35 old mobiles into the store, in Black Bourton Road.

Until February 25, there will be specially designed mobile phone recycling boxes in every Co-op store in Oxfordshire, Motorworld showrooms, and at Fox FM, Pony Road, Oxford. Help An Oxfordshire Child is Fox FM's designated charity.

All phones collected will be recycled by a specialist company, and either refurbished for resale in the UK and abroad, or recycled for spare parts and materials. None will end up in landfill sites, as they can leak cadmium, lithium, and mercury from their batteries into the earth and contaminate water supplies.

The money raised, which will average between £3.50 and £5 per phone, depending on age and condition, will go to provide grants for children's charities throughout Oxfordshire.

Barbara Dunne, of The Midcounties Co-operative, said: "As a co-operative, we're always looking for ways to join forces with others in our local communities. This is a great way to make good use of our stores as handy collection points. Any project that helps people recycle gets our vote, too."

Nick Streeter, charity manager for Fox FM's Help An Oxfordshire Child, said: "It's estimated that about 90m old mobile phones are hiding in bedroom cupboards or office drawers in the UK. If we can get just a percentage of these into our collecting boxes in Co-op stores, Motorworld showrooms, here at Fox FM, and at other collection points, we will be able to turn them into more funds for local charities.

"So get rummaging in those drawers!"

* To find your local collection point, visit the Fox FM website www.foxfm.co.uk/charity