oinstar, Inc. today announced that New York City has won its ‘Coinstar’s Greenest City’ contest. The Big Apple beat out nine other cities to win the title and a $10,000 grant for the New York-based environmental non-profit organization INFORM. The non-profit plans to apply their grant to their “Recycle Your Cell Phone Campaign.” During the month-long contest ending Oct. 15, the New York City area had the highest percentage increase in coin cash-ins at Coinstar Centers compared to a year ago. Consumers put approximately 200 million coins back into circulation.

As part of Coinstar’s Change for our Earth initiative, cities were challenged with reusing idle coin in their city to reduce the need for new coin production. In turn, this lowers environmental impacts associated with primary copper production and preserves natural resources. Coinstar estimates that there is over $10 billion in idle change sitting in U.S. households, with an estimated $687 million in the New York City area.

“This contest proves that individual actions can make a significant impact on improving the environment as demonstrated by the residents of New York City,” said Alex Camara, senior vice president of worldwide coin at Coinstar, Inc. “We are encouraged by the enthusiasm of participants across the country to find creative solutions, like reusing coins, that will lead us to a more environmentally-friendly future.”

INFORM, Inc. will use the $10,000 grant to help raise awareness of their ‘Recycle Your Cell Phone Campaign’ that educates the public about the need to recycle and how to do it responsibly. They also plan on advocating for making wireless telephone service providers responsible for taking back their products at the end of their useful life.

“We are thrilled with the outcome of this contest and to have the opportunity to spread the word about cell phone recycling,” said Virginia Ramsey, President of INFORM. “We’d like to thank the residents of New York City for taking the time to cash in their change for this contest and for helping us win the $10,000 grant.”

The top five cities that competed in ‘Coinstar’s Greenest City’ contest are as follows:

1. New York City, New York
2. Seattle, Washington
3. San Francisco, California
4. Chicago, Illinois
5. Atlanta, Georgia

Coinstar encourages Americans to reuse coin in whatever way best suits their needs, whether it’s donating it to charity, using it for parking meters, putting it toward cash transactions or cashing in at a Coinstar Center.

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Are you seeking a “green” way to build your next home? We’re operating on the principle that one person’s trash is another person’s castle. While ‘trash’ isn’t always free, using cast-offs to build a home is a great way to recycle. While the homes below use tires, cans, earth, plastic water bottles and other items - or a combination of these items - the possibilities are as limitless as your imagination and your local building codes.

If you’re expecting ‘trashy’ results with this recycling effort, we hope that our choices listed below will surprise you with their depth of creativity, beauty and charm. Although the homes are listed in no particular order, this does not mean that we favor one ‘trash’ method over another or one design above any other layout. Read the rest of this entry »

• The circuit boards in cell phones contain myriad toxins such as arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc.
• Brominated flame retardants are found in the plastic housing, printed wiring board, and cables.
• The lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries contain heavy metals such as cobalt, zinc, and copper.
• Many of these chemicals are Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) and have the potential to be released into the air and groundwater when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills, thus creating unnecessary threats to human health and the environment.
• Preliminary testing by the Department of Toxic Substances Control has shown that cell phones are likely to be determined hazardous at end-of-life and will require management under Universal Waste regulations.
• Universal Wastes must be recycled or managed as hazardous waste. Disposal at an unauthorized site or landfill is a serious crime as well as a serious environmental threat.
• Additional research by Dr. Timothy Townsend of the University of Florida for the US EPA has also found cell phones to leach hazardous levels of lead when disposed in landfill conditions.

Every day we get countless emails asking us waht types of cell phones do we recieve? Here are some examples showing the amount recieved on a daily basis.

• Over 70% of Americans do not know that they can recycle their old cell phone.
• Less than 5% of obsolete cell phones are refurbished or recycled.
• In a recent survey, only 2.3% of Americans recycled their old cell phones.
• Cell phone manufacturers and service providers have voluntarily implemented recycling programs and recognize that retail ‘take-back’ of old phones represents the lowest cost and most convenient recycling model.
• Unfortunately, these programs are not well advertised and inconsistent – only a fraction of retail cell phone outlets are currently providing their customers with recycling options.
• Of those who turned in their old cell phone to their service provider, only 18% were offered recycling as an option.
• Surveys suggest that 90% of Americans would recycle their cell phone if there was a convenient drop-off location at a store near them.

In the US, cell phone use has surged from 340,000 subscribers in 1985 to over 175 million today.

The average American cell phone user owns 3 or more cell phones.

The average life span of a cell phone is only 18 months.

By 2009, it is estimated that:

• 148 million cell phones will become obsolete and discarded annually in the US
• Over 700 million cell phones will be stockpiled in US homes
• It is estimated that up to 75 percent of obsolete cell phones are stockpiled in drawers by people who don’t know what else to do with them.

Not sure what to do with your old cell phone sitting in a bedroom drawer? Donate it to help charities and the enviroment! Donate Cell Phones Online now!

Hello! The new Recycling for Charities blog is now open for business!

We are excited to continue the environmental recycling effort across the United States in 2008 and would like to engage the online community even more. We are looking for guest contributors to write posts on the blog here on Recycling for Charities. Topics that need to be written on are:

• Recycling in General
• Tips on Recycling
• Integrating Recycling in your everyday life
• Recycling News
• Recycling Success stories
• Fundraiser Ideas

Everyone is welcome to submit an idea for an article and if you are interested in being a guest blogger on RFC, then please email dwight@recyclingforcharities.com. Be sure to include your writing background, ideas and thoughts on recycling in general and the environmental effects that you would like to help educate people on.

We are very excited and open to hear your comments and suggestions!

Helping to preserve the environment for the generations of the future is an important responsibility for which everyone should be held accountable. The electronic waste from pagers, cell phones, PDA’s and digital cameras continues to increase each day, and this waste poses a serious threat to the environment.  Unfortunately, until recently, legitimate wireless recycling programs have been few and far between.

Where RFC Helps
Recycling for Charities is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization that allows individuals an opportunity to recycle cellular phones, PDA’s, Palm Pilots, digital cameras, and iPods for value that is then donated to the charity of their choice.  Not only is RFC acting as a medium to raise funds for charities, but the organization helps individuals protect the environment as well.

For each wireless electronic donation provided, RFC contributes a mininum of one dollar to the foundation or cause selected by the donator*. (learn more about donations) Recycling is beneficial for charities, the environment, and is also tax-deductible! When you make a wireless donation, everyone benefits!

Donate Online Now

Commitment to You
Recycling for Charities is committed to recycling properly. We strive to recycle or refurbish as many of the units we receive as possible. RFC assures you that all electronic waste collected are handled responsibly. The well being of the environment is our primary concern.

• We work with an authorized system for the acceptance, collection, reuse and recycling or proper disposal of used cell phones
• RFC can provide retail mechanisms for the return, reuse, recycling, or proper disposal of used cell phones if the cell phone is delivered directly to a consumer
• The take-back of a used cell phone from a consumer who is purchasing a new cellular phone
• The creation and maintenance of public education to promote the recovery, reuse, and recycling or proper disposal of used cell phones
• Support reuse as the highest form of recycling
• No off-shore exporting of scrap, No prison or third-world labor
• Uphold 100% landfill diversion

Take Action - Learn More
We invite you to learn more about wireless recycling by reading through our site. ( Read a recent newspaper article on our founders here ) Keep in mind that we also do fundraising recycling and corporate events. Recycling for Charities - helping others while helping the environment.

Recycling for Charities
Tax ID: 20-3154736
5763 Arapahoe Ave.
Unit G
Boulder, CO 80303

866-630-7557 Tel
248-582-9212 Fax
info@recyclingforcharities.com
Contact RFC Online