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Lashonda at GreenDC Day sporting a No Dirty Gold t-shirt. |
Despite a looming threat of thunderstorms, GreenDC Day took place on Freedom Plaza beneath a nearly cloudless sky and abundant sunshine.
Held on April 20, 2011, GreenDC Day was an Earth Day celebration sponsored by the District Department of Environment. EARTHWORKS attended this event, accompanied by many other green vendors, to educate the public about green living and of course to collect old cell phones to recycle!
I was approached by a myriad of folks, many of whom were clad in the ubiquitous Earth Day shade of green and all of whom were not only interested in our mission but also shared passion about EARTHWORKS campaigns.
More often than not, when I asked people if they had old cell phones they would like to recycle, they responded emphatically.
“Why yes! And I just don t know what to do with them!”
One woman insisted that her teenager had gone through nearly ten cell phones that year alone! (Mind you, this is only April.) Behind a couple with two big bags of phones, a man who worked in the tech department of his company mentioned thoughtfully that the company employees got new phones so frequently that he was often left with piles of forgotten phones.
Because EARTHWORKS is partnered with the E-Steward recycler Capstone Wireless, the over 100 phones that we collected during GreenDC Day will be recycled to the highest environmental standards.
If you re keeping track, taking into account the phones collected from the earlier Golden Triangle BID Flowers for Phones event, that’s over 350 phones saved from landfills! That means 12 lbs of copper and several more pounds of gold, silver, and palladium that we don t have to mine for! In addition, these phones will not leak harmful chemicals into our air or ground. Is there a better way to celebrate Earth Day?
Help EARTHWORKS keep Earth’s ground and air clean by recycling your old cell phone. You can mail or drop off your phone at:
EARTHWORKS
1612 K St. STE 808
Washington, DC 20006
Or better yet, EARTHWORKS can help you organize a cell phone recycling fundraiser of your own! Simply email lthigpen@earthworks.org or call 202-887-1872 ext. 101.
As always, your donation is tax-deductible.
Keep recycling for the greener good!
