A website has been launched to help British Columbians recycle their old cellphones.
It directs users to the nearest location out of 520 across the province that are certified to recycle cellphones for free. It was created by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, cellphone service providers and recycling companies.
“Within seconds of entering my postal code at recyclemycell.ca, I was directed to seven drop-off locations … where I could take my old cellphone for recycling,” said Environment Minister Barry Penner.
The average cellphone is 95 per cent reusable and contains expensive parts made of materials like gold and silver.
Brock Macdonald, executive director of the Recycling Council of B.C., said the scrap materials are used to produce new mobile devices.
“This program will keep thousands of cellphones out of our landfills and help us to recover valuable resources at the same time,” he said.
For every device recycled through the program, a donation is made to a charity, including Tree Canada and the World Wildlife Fund.
