Old mobiles ring changes for youngsters

CHILDREN across Staffordshire are being urged to recycle their old mobiles and win prizes for their schools.

They are being asked to swap their old mobile phones for cash in a scheme that could either boost their own funds or a charity of their choice.

The initiative, run by Cannock-based European Textile Recycling Ltd, also aims to raise money for the County Air Ambulance. And there’s a prize of £1,000 up for grabs for the school that collects the most phones by January next year.

Simon Tracey, from European Textile Recycling Ltd, of Hollies Park Road, explained that the phones would be collected in boxes supplied by the company, before being sold on for re-use in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa or recycled for their parts.

The collections are planned as part of the company’s work for the community, under a new scheme to back the County Air Ambulance, as well as supporting other charities.

He said: “The phones are sent to countries less fortunate than our own where they will be reused. “In the UK, it’s estimated that there are more than 45 million mobile users and around 60 million phones lie unused.

“Some 18 million new mobiles are bought every year, but fewer than ten per cent of unwanted or “outdated” handsets are recycled.

“We know that children as young as eight or nine are using mobile phones and can move on to new models when they come out. What happens to their old handset is important.

“If old phones are thrown away, that’s a total waste. It has been estimated that it would take about 1,000 years for a handset to decompose in a landfill site. Taking part in this scheme means also helping reduce pollution from toxic substances that would leak into the soil if the handsets ended up in landfill sites.

“We hope that children, parents and staff can help us collect their old phones and help boost funds at the same time. We have included pictures of Melvyn, our friendly alien character who wants to help planet Earth on the collection boxes. Melvyn says: ‘Don’t bin, it, recycle it’ which is all part of a positive, environmentally responsible message for children.

“For every phone collected, European Textile Recycling will donate £2. This can either go to the school itself, be split with the County Air Ambulance, or all go to the air ambulance, or be donated to a charity of the school’s choice.

“We are offering a prize to each of the top three schools that collect the most phones between July 4, 2008 and January 31, 2009. To claim the prizes, the schools have to collect at least 500 phones.”

One of the first schools to sign up for the scheme is Manor Hill First School in Stone.

Headteacher Pauline Francis welcomed the chance to spread a ‘green’ message among her pupils.

She said: “It will enable our children to help people who are less fortunate than themselves and make them more aware of how they can help the environment that they are growing up in – so that they will become responsible citizens of the future.

“This scheme is also part of our drive to become a more ecologically aware school.”