500 Million Used Cell Phones Pose Environmental Threat

March 24, 2004

Studies show that 500 million used cell phones currently stored away in closets and drawers will eventually end up in landfills, where releases of the many toxic materials they contain create threats to human health and the environment.

(PRWEB) March 20 2004--Constant warnings from environmental groups over the past year have prompted a cell phone repair firm to begin a new company that will pay you to send them your old phone.

�We can refurbish old phones and put them back into use in poorer countries, so we are willing to pay individuals and groups to send old phones to us,� explained James Mosieur of www.CellForCash.com.

The warnings issued last year by INFORM, a national environmental research organization, did not fall on deaf ears. Mosieur�s firm, RMS Communications, Inc. formed a new division and set up a website at www.CellForCash.com.

The site offers individuals and groups from $3 to $75 per phone, and even provides free shipping to send the phones them.

The need for such a program is significant.

Cell phone use has grown from 340,000 in 1985 to an estimated 150 million today. The average life of a cell phone is only 12 to 18 months because users love to change to the latest and greatest new phone each year.

There are at least 100 to 500 million used phones right now, and by 2005 there will be at least 130 million phones retired annually, according to INFORM and other reports.

�Waste in the Wireless World,� a report issued by INFORM, warns of the toxic chemicals that could end up in our environment if all those phones are tossed into landfills. It was the inspiration for cell phone reuse and recycling.

�RMS Communications Group, Inc. has been providing wireless sourcing and repair services to the wireless industry for over 18 years. We knew that cell phones could be repaired and recycled, rather than tossed into the waste system. We now have the means to put old phones to good use in less fortunate countries, and protect our environment at the same time,� said Mosieur.

RMS gave birth to www.CellForCash.com and the response has been encouraging. Individuals and non-profit groups have been collecting phones and sending them in, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.

�Less than 1 percent of all mobile phones have been recycled. That means there are still millions of phones going to waste, and threatening our environment. One phone does not seem so hazardous, but the collective effect of 100 million phones per year on our environment is staggering. We can give all those phones a new home and prevent them from harming our fragile environment,� said Mosieur.

Mosieur�s company is following the recommendation of INFORM by offering financial incentives to turn in old phones. His website (www.CellForCash.com) provides complete, easy to follow instructions on how to send phones for reuse, with no shipping costs, and receive a payment in return.

CellForCash.com, located in Ocala, Fla., is run by RMS Communications Group, Inc, an industry powerhouse providing wireless sourcing and repair services to the wireless industry.

The source of this news release is PRWeb.