Cell Phone Recycling Blog

Are you getting the whole pie or just a slice?

2011-03-07T10:12:00.006-07:00

So, in efforts to outsource their ‘sales’ department, companies have created programs where kids can sell their products and receive commission on the sale. These programs are by no means evil, in fact they have no doubt raised millions of dollars for schools around the nation, and filled countless stomachs with delectable delights.

But, shouldn’t a fundraiser be more than just asking people to buy an overpriced item they’ll have to wait weeks to receive?

The appeal of food fundraisers is that you selling such an tasty (albeit unhealthy) product that the product will sell itself. But how is somebody expected to shell out $25 for a pizza when they can have one delivered by Pizza Hut for $10?

Well my fundraising idea isn’t selling any product, its simply collecting the old cell phones that people (correctly) have chosen not to throw away. Skeptical? You should be after you’ve being pitched every other fundraiser in the book.

Well, let’s start off with this one simple question: How many phones do you have sitting at your house gathering dust, 2,3,4? If you answered none, I’m betting that either your 10 years old, have thrown them away, or hopefully recycled them.

Collect them up and send them in (shipping’s on me) and I’ll pay you more than a buck per phone. I can either re-sell them for re-use or melt them down for their precious metals like gold.
We’ll inventory them for you, e-mail you the report & send you a check, not points or some other arbitrary abstraction of money.

E-Waste (Electronic waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in America, and wouldn’t you rather have your students/kids being part of the solution and fundraise at the same time?

Are you getting the whole pie or just a slice?

Meet The Boss - Stockholm Central Station

2011-02-14T07:53:00.006-07:00

I wanted to introduce you to a really useful site called Meet The Boss I located within my Green group on LinkedIn.

The site is stuffed with video interview of leaders of the worlds biggest companies providing advice, insights and information about how they got to where they are and tips for business success.

The site has some good content on green topics such as sustainability and the triple bottom line but is focused on more general business topics that provide valuable learning.

Below is an interesting example of one of the videos on the site I found fascinating and I am sure you will too!

Stockholm Central Station uses excess body heat as heating for a nearby office building.

According to a report by the BBC, each individual creates about 100 watts of heat but this is noticeably increased when doing non-vigorous activities such as shopping or eating. The Central Station in Stockholm is the ideal place, whereby around 250,000 people pass through per day and there is surplus of body heat. The question is how is the body heat used for heating?

Hit the Video Link to SEE more!

President Obama addresses E-waste

2010-11-19T09:34:00.010-07:00

In a historic address President Obama signed a proclamation for America to become a world leader in sustainable electronics recycling. On November 15th (America Recycles Day), the President as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that greater attention must be given to how our country discards consumer electronics.

While the recycling and reuse of plastics, aluminum and paper have steadily been on the rise, very little has been done to manage our e-waste safely. However, recent media coverage on the amount of hazardous materials and rare minerals that end up in landfills and countries like China and India has changed the climate on our recycling in this country.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, "Used electronics represent the fastest growing segment of local solid waste in our country."

Nancy Sutley, Chair of CEQ said, "The federal government has a responsibility to ensure that its own waste is properly managed and recycled. Identifying opportunities to reuse the valuable resources contained in most disposed electronic devices is an important part of our obligation to protect human health and the environment."

Companies like Cellular Recycler of Boulder, CO have been responsibly recycling cellphones for over 7 years. Safely collecting, refurbishing, and reselling cellphones is a needed part of the sustainable electronics recycling. We can learn a great deal from companies like this and replicate the model to cover computers, cameras, gaming devices and other electronics from ending up in landfills and polluting our environment.

The President's address brings hope and opportunity to make America a world leader in sustainable electronics.

For more information and to be a part of this exiciting movement please join us below.

Click an icon above to find out more about us!

Finally... Smartphone apps meet Automakers

2010-10-14T10:01:00.003-06:00

This has been a long awaited marriage. It must be the bureaucracy of car making, or the intricate ties with government regulations, but cellphones have been meant to merge with cars since the beginning.
How nice would it be to have your car linked instantly with the web and all the amazing potential that comes with that?
Think about this new app Carbonga... it connects into your phones diagnostics board and give you instant feedback and explanations when your car engine light turns on. Or how about Sync, an Mp3 player and voice commanded text messaging app you can use while driving?

I believe this is the obvious progression of cars. With the increase of social media's integration into mainstream life, one would wonder when will cars be next?
That time has come. Brace yourselves, the entire driving experience is about to change.

If that doesn't excite you, then check out Google's self driving automobiles. That will surely be a game shaker.

Cellphones are becoming more and more versatile and integral to our existence. Lets keep them out of landfills and push their potentials to the limit.

Femtocells increase your coverage and stop iphone congestion

2010-10-04T09:39:00.002-06:00

Ever heard of a Femtocell? These little chips act as mini cell towers, bringing cellphone service to areas that usually have spotty, at best coverage.

They also function as additional tower strength in areas where congestion is so bad that the networks slows down to a trickle. In these instances, it is good for reducing traffic temporarily because femtocells are much cheaper than actual cell towers.

It is a strange thing, that you sometime find yourself in a busy area and you can't make a phone call. Cell carriers are slowly figuring out new ways to enhance signal strength, but I think we're still a ways off from having full coverage everywhere. I imagine the newer phones will have better antennae and be capable themselves of enhancing the signal no matter where you are. Either way, cellphones are seemingly becoming better but the service isn't.

For now, I wouldn't recommend looking into a femtocell unless you aren't getting service at your home or office but need to.

Metro PCS has Verizon's number.... Today.....

2010-09-22T08:09:00.006-06:00

It is not often the little guy beats the big boys to the punch but today Metro PCS executives can walk the halls with their heads held high. Metro PCS Inc has launched the 4G wireless broadband phone that still has the signature no contract option which makes the small carrier's new device attractive in a LARGE way.

Deposit check on your cellphone!

2010-09-13T14:25:00.004-06:00

Now this is cool.

Have you ever felt like you'll never have the time to bring those burdening checks to the bank before they expire? Well fear not.

Now, some banks are allowing you to do this on your cellphone! Simply take a photo of the check and send it off to your band via a bank app and voila! Money in the bank, never been so easy.

"The process is terrifically simple", says one loyal Chase Bank Iphone User.

What makes this so revolutionary? You don't have to go to the branch anymore. Scratch that off the list, just deposit checks from home.

If you're feeling tech savvy enough, you just might never have to go to the bank again. Thank technology for that.

Enjoy,

now go and spend more time where you want to

Would you like to pay with cash, credit or your cellphone?

2010-08-20T13:58:00.004-06:00

New technology is in the works via Apple inc. to create a fully-functional payment system that simply requires your cellphone. The mundance activity of using a credit card was once a novel experience. But today, many people don't even use cash anymore.
"The advent of the mobile Web and smartphones could push the banking industry through some major changes."
People seem to enjoy and increasingly adhere to the simplicity inherent in smartphone technology. With the incorporation of paying via phone, we may an even further streamlined integration of cellphone technology with the rest of market and economy.
Be prepared to quickly find yourself shopping with your phone.

Cellphone Dryer Box from Japan Will Dry Your Cellphone, Perhaps Save it From Doom

2010-08-13T07:52:00.003-06:00

Look out Boulder; Cellular Recycler has one of the cell phone driers on back order from Japan. We will soon be able to speed up repair time and save labor cost for customers who have inadvertently gotten their phone wet.

This little gizmo will further our cause for reusing all electronics that pass through the doors of our company.

3 Reasons Why a Ban on E-waste Exports is Wrong

2010-08-11T11:42:00.004-06:00

Although electronic waste can be harmful to people and the enviornment, banning it outright can have negative impacts too. Discovery News has flipped the coin and given three insightful reasons how electronics are put to use in developing countries who desparately need thier economy stimulated by advancing communication:

1) Trade bans have negative economic and social impacts by cutting jobs in the refurbishment sector and reducing supply to used markets.

2) Trade bans push the backyard recycling toward the black market.

3) Within a decade, more e waste will be generated in the developing world compared to the developed, waste that without other interventions will be recycled with high enviornmental impacts.

Time to unlock those iPhones (legally!)

2010-08-03T15:11:00.003-06:00

A recent discussion and law passed on 'digital rights' from the Library of Congress, acknowledging the legitimacy of unlocking and jailbreaking cellphones.

Even now, Apple frowns on the jailbreaking of its iphones by voiding warranties and refusing to help solve technical issues for the customers. However, this 'freeing' of cellphones from parent companies and cellphone service providers is officially a legal activity even though it has never been actually illegal.

This is a great step for the American public towards gaining more upper-hand in the monopolistic battle between the customers and the service providers. Unlike the majority of the world, American providers lock their cellphones for specifically their own service, as opposed to having unlocked phones in which one can freely choose which service to use.

Cellphone recyclers like ourselves will become more valuable as people become more aware of the option to buy any phone and then choose their service.

Attempting to establish a world record

2010-07-19T15:28:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Johnson County in Kansas City Missouri for taking a tough task and putting a unique twist of encouragement to its residents. "Its a good feeling to give your electronic waste a second life" says Betsy Betros, the counties director of pollution control. "Technology is not going to stop, and we don't want it to. But we do have finite resources. Threes only one planet Earth'. Johnson County submitted results of their four tractor loads to the Guinness Book of records and are waiting to hear the result

Curing Cancer One Cell Phone at a Time

2010-07-16T15:53:00.001-06:00

The Notre Dame office of Sustainibility is collecting cell phones for the American Cancer Society:

Cutting back on phone e-waste

2010-07-15T07:48:00.005-06:00

Great article today in the Daily Camera.

"Cellular Recycler has been refurbishing and recycling phones in Boulder since 2003. Operations manager Jason Gelfand said the company, which employees 38 people at a large warehouse space in Central Boulder, refurbishes or recycles up to 100,000 phones each month."

Cellphones go 3D!

2010-07-05T16:49:00.002-06:00

Televisions sets, movie theaters and now Cellphones! The world is going 3D, leaving behind a once adored 2D, simple life.
With new technology that can actually keep track of which eye is looking at the screen, software engineers have discovered how to create video games and movies for handheld devices that targets each eye. When you send a slightly different screen to each eye, you create 3D, or rather depth perception.
Leading the game is Nokia and Hitachi, who have already produced 3D phones and are working on advancing the idea. These developers believe 2011 will bring 3D full circle in all forms of modern technology and soon become a norm for our society.
This advance, once again, will yield a whole generation of cellphones rendered useless by some but goldmines for others. Visit Cellular Recycler for more info.

Texting madness and revolution

2010-05-28T16:23:00.004-06:00

Remember the days when you just used your phone to talk to people?

Those days are long gone, and now, simply history.

A recent study showed that 'texting' amongst teenagers has risen over %20 in the past 3 years.

Talking on their phones less and less, the next generation has fully embraced sending text and pictures messages over more traditional forms of communication.

Minority groups seem to be in the lead when it comes to paying for Internet access on their children's phones.

Our retail store has a higher demand for full keyboard (QWERTY) phones than any other type of cellphone. This appears to be a rather abrupt and recent phenomenon. Once you have the computer-esq keyboard in your hands, there is no going back. All new phones will incorporate full keyboards and push the innovative trail further for discovering more and better ways to 'text'.

For electronics recyclers like us, it is hard to keep up with the shift of interest. What are we to do with all the 'old fashioned' phones that just have numbers?

Well, there are still quite a few of us from the 'older' generation still quite content with how our phones work.

Brain Cancer and Cellphone Use Study Completed

2010-05-18T18:20:00.006-06:00

A study funded by the European Union and the cellphone industry has just completed it's 13-country study on whether cellphone use can be linked to increased risk for brain tumors.

The report called Interphone, concluded with researchers claiming they found no substantial evidence to link the two together.

However, many critics and scientists agree; with increased use among the younger generation, more studies will need to be conducted.

The question comes to mind how much influence the 'cellphone industry' had over how the scientists were supposed 'interpret' the data. If the study came to definitively show that cellphone use is linked to the development of brain cancer, I believe there would be an uproar from the public and we would see a noticeable drop in the amount of cellphone use.

It is scary to think sometimes how little we actually know about the technologies we use and their ultimate effects on our lives.

Hopefully a new innovation for communication will lead to less radiation exposure.

Federal Communications Commission to create bill to warn of high cellphone bills

2010-05-11T13:53:00.004-06:00

A common symptom of the American cellphone 'contract' is what we like to call ' bill shock '. You sign up for what you think is a good deal with companies like Verizon, T-mobile, AT&T in hopes of saving money. But once you're locked into your contract, crazy things can happen... Like excessive roaming or data charges that you were unaware of; sometimes in the hundreds of dollars.

BUT, alas, the F.C.C. is seeking to create a bill that will require these cellphone companies to warn customers before enacting outrageous roaming charges.

Perhaps this will revive some of the growing population that is fed up with contracts and the companies that are selling them. Either way it is time for these companies to be more responsible and sensible in how they treat their customers.

How Cellphones Really Work

2010-05-06T12:53:00.008-06:00

I recently found this interesting diagram showing how cellphone calls actually work. Phone calls are something so trivial and common in our everyday lives and yet most people haven't a clue how it works.

With the high speed of cellphone turn-around, and thus recycled phones, its surprising such an advanced technology is often times taken for granted. We all owe this beautiful convenience of modern life to Nikola Tesla, who helped invent wireless transceivers.

Just some food for thought.

Via: Cell Phones

Top Cell Phone by Carrier

2010-04-30T09:04:00.009-06:00

Ginny Miles from PC World has given us an in depth look at the top 5 phones from the top 4 US Carriers.
"Shopping for a cell phone can be overwhelming; after all, these devices do a whole lot more than just make phone calls. So which Carrier has the best selection of phones"?

Top 5 Verizon Phones

Top 5 T-Mobile Phones

Top 5 AT&T phones

Top 5 Sprint Phones

You have to pay attention to these phone models as they will pave the way in two to three years for the phones that Cellular Recycler will be recycling and re selling all over the world. What was yesterdays RAZR is today's Droid and iPhone.

Credit Card Transactions via CellPhones

2010-04-29T12:40:00.002-06:00

You're at your local Farmer's market and see that beautiful sweet corn you'd like to grill tonight. But... you don't have any cash? Instead of asking around to find the nearest ATM, chances are you can run your credit card through the farmer's cellphone.

Companies are sprouting up daily that have easy to use plug-ins or software that allow credit card transactions on cellphones. How many times have you split the bill with your friend, but don't have the cash on the spot and end up forgetting about it? Now you can just run your credit card effortlessly between phones.

Square, PayPal and GoPayment all offer services now, usually with a monthly fee and per-transaction fee to mobilize your credit card payments.

The move away from cash has been steady and still has its resistors, but with the increase of smartphone use we can see this transition gain momentum and push us into the paper free future. The next generation will hardly know who's on the dollar bill anymore.

Cellphones have been rising in status for the past few decades and are approaching their zenith as the all-in-one device. This is a plus for recycling companies like us, whose role in society will increase with cellphone acceptance.

PREPAY vs. CONTRACT

2010-04-24T14:14:00.004-06:00

A paradigm shift for cellphone service is occurring this year. The pre-dominant method of buying cellphone service in America has been to go to your local Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile or Sprint store and buy a phone at an extremely discounted price with an attached 2-year contract with that company (that has the actual price of the phone built in).

With the recent downturn of the economy, more people have been looking to get out of that contract and hop on a monthly service that they can easily change and end at will.

"This week, both AT&T and Verizon Wireless reported steep declines in the number of customers who signed up for contracts during the first quarter of 2010."

Will these largest corporations start to incorporate prepaid more into their plans? Either way, this opens a lot of doors for selling used phones, as people are also seeking cheaper phones that are not subsidized by their service provider.

We expect this change of how American cellphone companies operate will bring about great things in years to come, especially for us, the customer.

HTC EVO to be the first 4G phone

2010-04-17T15:00:00.003-06:00

This summer, Sprint will release its first ever 4G android phone.
Long awaited, the next step in cellphone internet connections has arrived. What excites me is the HD video capabilities and the 8megapixel camera. Up until now, video on phones has been slow, and uploading high quality video instantly impossible.

Now you can stream your video straight to the internet/facebook/myspace/whatever as you're doing it and do it in High definition. Now that's cool. Who would have thought the day would come where you could have a high def camera and video camera in your phone and have it instantly connected to the internet?
"With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, HTC EVO 4G allows up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 4G experience. Users can easily share an Internet connection on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.

With integrated HD video capture and 4G speeds, HTC EVO 4G makes slow uploads and grainy video a thing of the past. Now, it is possible to post high-quality video to YouTube™ or Facebook, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik"

The data capability of phones is accelerating and it will soon be true that you can do just about anything you want on your phone.
So, I would hold off before buying that iphone or Nexus One and see what kind of surprises the cellphone industry has for this summer.

Target to begin Cellphone recycling!

2010-04-15T13:03:00.002-06:00

The massive corporation and everything store Target has begun collecting cellphones and old ipods in celebration of this years upcoming Earth Day!

This is exciting news, as millions of Americans regularly shop at Target stores across the country and will be exposed to simple, accessible and free electronics recycling. Up until now, finding a local source for recycling electronics has been difficult. However, with Target now reaching a majority of this country, recycling should be easy.

If you feel you could earn money from your old phones, then try selling them on craigslist, or shipping them to a recycling company like Cellular Recycler to get some money for them.

This is exciting progress for nationwide recycling efforts and corporate involvement.

iPad is out, and Apple's OS 4 is revealed

2010-04-10T09:33:00.002-06:00

iPad's are out on the loose all over the country. For those lucky 300,000 or so people who received their iPad's on the first day, the life-altering technology is starting to transform them. Hundreds of online reviews and blogs are out covering the initial experiences with iPad. My favorite thus far is GIZMODO's personal exploration.

There are many skeptics still out there, wondering if they really need another device. Truth is, you don't. But the iPad certainly is a fun toy.

What else is new to the cellphone/apple world? OS4. Apple recently unveiled their new software for iphone 3GS, ipod touch and ipad. Not to be released until later in the summer, OS4 will allow multi-tasking (the main complaint on the ipad), personal backgrounds, and folders.

You should probably hold out for the next generation of iphone or late summer for the iPad before unnecessarily upgrading. But if you do, be sure to recycle or resell your old phone or computer. We can expect 2G's to be obsolete within a year, and the 3G shortly thereafter.

More companies, bigger market, more money

2010-04-05T18:19:00.002-06:00

Cash for old electronics has become a popularized form of recycling. A dream for many of us 'die-hard environmentalists' has always been to create a reward system to encourage recycling behavior.

The (EPA) has announced a dramatic increase in companies that are making this dream come true. Today, there are more opportunities to recycle those electronics than ever before... and make some cash at it.

Not even 5 years ago there were no avenues to dispose of electronics, let alone recycle them without sending them to the landfill grave.

Now there is a flourishing market with numerous companies out there waiting to help you and keep our electronics out of the landfills.

Check out some of these websites for more info.

National Recycling Week to begin!

2010-04-02T14:55:00.003-06:00

2nd annual National Cell Phone Recycling Week begins April 5 – 11, 2010.

" Last year, Americans turned in approximately 11.7 million cell phones for reuse and recycling."

However, there are still an estimated 150 million phones still out there in drawers across the nation. So come on people, help spread the good word, and let's give all those phones new lives and help raise money for your favorite non-profits.

Let's make this the best cellphone recycling year ever! Tell your friends and family to participate, gather the phones up and send them to your local recycling facility.

Thanks to the United States Environmental Protection Agency for putting together this wonderful week celebrating e-cycling and cellphone revival.

Iphone app to lead the way towards free calling

2010-03-27T17:03:00.004-06:00

Budding heads directly with the traditional dollars for minutes routine that most service providers offer, Line2 creates another line on your Iphone with contacts and more, used either over of the existing 3G network or through WiFi hotspots.

This appeals to a lot of people, because if they spend most of their time surrounded by WiFi, they can have all the free phone calls they want and save money. It's a brilliant application for Apple and opens the doors to free calls over the internet everywhere.

You can now turn your ipod touch into a phone when you're within reach of WiFi signals. Better yet, the sound quality is increased from the normal voice calls.

Perhaps cellphones are moving away from having 'data' plans and towards an ever-connected internet device that can meet all your needs at once.

Either way, keep recycling those old phones and be ready for the next jump in technology to arrive.

Would you remember to recycle your phone for a lottery ticket?

2010-03-23T15:36:00.001-06:00

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) recently launched a nationwide cell phone recycling campaign incentivized by essentially, a lottery. When you buy another new phone and recycle your old one, you’ll receive a “gift voucher” potentially worth $540, $54, or $11.

What’s really smart about this program is that the Japan’s METI has essentially found a way to provide a significant ‘potential’ value for the consumer by recycling their cell phone instead of trying to offer a complicated buy back’ program which provides a specific value for each phone, many of which would be worth $.25 to $2. The vast majority of cell phones not in use today are worth very little when turning them into a recycler or buyback program due to all of the logistics, processing and labor it takes to turn that phone around into a usable refurbished unit.

How many people do you know that would remember to dig out their old cell phone from the closet, and turn it in for a quarter? Not worth it right?

Well what if you could get a lottery ticket worth over $500? The bottom line is people are much more likely to do something if you turn it into a game or ‘lottery’ in this case. I absolutely love this idea and can’t wait to see if it garners any success in Japan.

Cell Phone Radiation - Does the test still make sense?

2010-03-17T09:41:00.003-06:00

It seems every year a study comes out revealing the radiation levels of the newest phones to hit the market. This year, Motorola had 6 of the top 20, while Blackberries made up 4 of the top SAR models.

Measured in SAR (specific absorption rate levels) which is the amount of radio energy absorbed by your body, the tests that measure the SAR levels specifically measure the human head using a model filled with a fluid which represents the same absorption properties of a human head. Although, its interesting that they perform these tests on a model of a large male head with small ears according to sarvalues.com. As a large head is more likely to absorb more radiation.

Whats interesting is how the culture of cell phones has started to make the test seem outdated and a poor representation of how we use our cell phones today. What about the SAR measurement when your texting or browsing the web? Now, with your hands being smaller than your head, there's a pretty good chance that the SAR rating wouldn't be any higher and, in fact could be lower. But, what about when you have your smart phone updating your e-mails every hour in your pocket? Seems like your whole midsection has a little more mass than your head, and therefore could absorb more radiation.

Why hasn't the FCC updated the test to include the 'in pocket' SAR when your phone is busy keeping you connected to the digital world of facebook, twitter, & e-mail updates that we can't live without?

For a list of the SAR ratings on some of the phones you grew up check out http://www.sarvalues.com/usa-complete.html

Sprint to release the first Wi-Max cellphone

2010-03-15T17:32:00.002-06:00

Spring has announced its soon to be released SuperSonic cellphone made by HTC. This phone will run on the ultra-speed Wi-Max network. Most other U.S. carriers have chosen instead to focus their attention and dollars on the up and coming 4G L.T.E. ( long term evolution) network. Spring will be the first service to offer a cellphone with such super high-speed internet and data capabilities.

What this means to us? 3G and wi-fi enabled phones will become history before we know it. Possibly within a year, everyone will be converting to wi-max or 4G phones. Data and internet are steadily rising in popularity, thus the importance of this move by Sprint.

We can expect to see an influx of seemingly new phones vanish into the past as high speed internet connections become the standard. This will mean good things for places like Cellular Recycler and other similarly minded companies.

Is Apple's new iPad environmentally friend?

2010-03-10T15:57:00.007-07:00

Well... they say it is.
A few years ago there were many controversy's over Apple products being shipped overseas and discarded in extremely hazardous ways.

The company is, "now in last place among the 14 largest electronics firms in committing to phase out harmful and toxic substances and instituting recycling programs of products that have reached the end of their lifecycles," according to Greenpeace in 2006.

Their most recent Macbook and iPad are supposed free of harmful toxins and will recycled safely within the United States alone... or so we hope.

Greenpeace even created their own blog over the concept GreenMyApple.org
Finally their products are being created without the harmful ingredients.
Way to go Apple, keep it up. This will keep us environmentally-minded folks still stoked on Apple's products.

Why recycling your electronics is so important.

2010-03-06T09:16:00.004-07:00

We've all heard the stories about children in developing countries getting poisoned by the toxins in electronics. If not, the horror stories are definitely out there. With the ever-increasing technological demands of developed countries, the legal and often-times illegal export of e-waste is on the rise.

New international laws have been developed to curb these immediate problems. However, the current trend indicates that establishing proper recycling facilities will be extremely difficult in countries like China and India.

"Moreover, most e-waste in China is improperly handled, much of it incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold--practices that release steady plumes of far-reaching toxic pollution and yield very low metal recovery rates compared to state-of-the-art industrial facilities."

What can you do?

Recycle properly. Learn more. Buy from environmentally conscious companies.

It is a growing market in this day and age. Find your local recyclery and spread the word.

'Unlocked' vs. 'Subsidized' cellphones

2010-02-27T09:55:00.005-07:00

$400 $49.99
At our retail store, we emphasize to our customers the value of buying an unlocked or 'unsubsidized' phone. It has always occurred to me that when companies like Verizon or T-mobile offer these awesome new toys at prices like $49.99; it must be too good to be true. And it is...

They simply build the rest of the price of the phone ($400) into your 2 year contract that you must sign. In the long run, (2 years) you end up paying around $200 extra through your jacked up monthly bills.

"Let’s say that you buy a MyTouch 3G, one of T-Mobile’s most popular smartphones, for $400, and sign up for its unlimited voice, text and data plan for $60 a month. The total cost of the phone over two years would be $1,840.

If, instead, you buy the phone subsidized by T-Mobile for $150, that same plan will cost $80 monthly — bringing your two-year total to $2,070.

If you reject the subsidy, you’ll actually have $230 to spend two years from now, and $20 every month you keep the phone beyond that.

So... conventional wisdom tells us you should buy the phone upfront at full price and pay less monthly or; get a used phone from a cellphone recyclery and save even more money.

Check out this New York Times article for more info.

Puma's Solar Cell Phone

2010-02-25T16:03:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that I am a bit of a fashion hound and I personally can’t get enough Puma for my kick around gear and computer bag. I know this is a cell phone recycling blog but I have to say that they make a quality product for those of us who bike to work.

My interest in this article is because I have seen electronics manufactures that make washers and dryers get into the cell phone game but now we have a brand that is synonymous for making shoes. The German sportswear company has partnered with French telecommunications company Sagem and developed a solar-powered phone. It has a touch screen, a camera, a pedometer, a stopwatch, a GPS tracker, and built-in mapping software designed for runners and cyclists.

I am excited that we have a new fresh idea in the industry. We should all follow the progress of this idea not just because it is solar powered but because if they succeed we could all be carrying a phone that looks like it was purchased out of a foot locker from the mall.

New ways to experience your cellphone

2010-02-20T10:49:00.004-07:00

Microvisions Pico Production is leading the way towards evolving technology. Now you can project movies, pictures and text messages directly from your cellphone. This feature would be great for giving presentations on the go.
Another new product is Motorola's Golden -I that sports a 15-inch virtual PC display.
One thing is for sure, cellphone manufacturers are looking to the future for innovative technology and the coolest gadgets.
One hope from this burgeoning market is that we should see an influx of diversity in the cellphone market.

Mobile meets Facebook Zero

2010-02-19T18:22:00.002-07:00

Social Media Giant Facebook has released a new version specific to mobile phones. More and more people are interested in accessing their facebook accounts to upload photos/videos updates while on the go. I believe Facebook was meant to be mobile.
The new dawn of Facebook zero will allow users to hop on this low-bandwith app on their phones.
"The social network recently said over 100 million people now access Facebook from their phone".

The slimmed down version is apparently already available and called Facebook lite; however it is currently meant for the developing world where internet connections are slower.

As more and more applications and ideas spread through the mobile web, we can expect to see an exponential rise in individuals purchasing phones specifically for their web browsing capabilities. Google's Nexus one and the Iphone still remain champions of this hurdle into the future.

Long Term Evolution soon to hit U.S.

2010-02-17T09:09:00.010-07:00

With the exponential growth of mobile internet use, service providers are looking to the future for answers to their mobile traffic problems. With roughly 500,000 million people now using the 3G network and with those numbers on the rise, a faster form of data transfer is greatly in need.
The '4G' network is said to deliver up to 500 times the speed of most broadband services today.

How will this affect the cellphone and recycling industries?

1. There will be many old phones left in the dust for newer models capable of handling the 4G speeds... i.e. where do the current billion or so phones end up? There will be major growth in cellphone recycling in the next 5 years.

2. Competition will push the cellphone manufactures into hyperspeed and apps for mobile devices will reach their acme.

3. Wireless will completely replace fixed link.

"Wireless internet access is going to be a better, richer experience than fixed link access." said Professor Michael Walker, group R&D director at Vodafone told Wireless 2.0 conference in Bristol, organised by Silicon South-West.

The age of wireless is upon us, be prepared to recycle your old devices and embrace the future.

For more info check out this blog 3G4G and a recent NYT article.

Winter Olympic medals made from recycled e-waste

2010-02-14T13:49:00.007-07:00

An interesting article came out today from Scientific American that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are using recycled metals. “Each medal was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of e-waste that otherwise would have been sent to Canadian landfills" says Larry Greenemeyer.

This is not just a good idea it is a great idea that the Olympic committees are looking at greening the games and looking from their past achievements and advances on what ideas can make the games more eco friendly.

You can take a look at all the ways that corporate sponsorship and the city of Vancouver are actively promoting a greener Olympics.

I will personally pledge that if Denver Colorado ever submits a successful bid that Cellular Recycler will donate a container of used cell phones that will have an even larger percentage of the precious metals found in them than the Canadians used by recycling cathode ray tube glass and computer parts.

With the 250,000+ cell phones that can be smelted for precious metals we will work with other American refineries, coordinate some serious nationwide e waste community recycling drives and get the precious metals to 100%.

If my readers would like to talk to me personally I would be glad to open up the communication lines and develop a real plan for the next Olympics that are held here in America of the 2012 games in London.

Google Chrome Tablet?

2010-02-09T10:06:00.004-07:00

Will Google make its own version of the much anticipated Apple iPad? Lots of people think so. Chances are it will be presented as something like the NExus One. Google may work with other hardware companies to produce pre-versions/DROIDesque models until it has perfected it enough to release the official Google Tablet.

There have been numerous complaints about the recently release iPad. Namely its lack of a camera and multitasking. Will Google fix this?

For more info check out Google's open-source Chrome project Chromium.

$499 for Apple's new iPad

2010-02-09T10:05:00.002-07:00

Unveiled to the world today, Apple has made history once again with its revolutionary iPad. Steve Jobs' magnum opus will change the mobile world.

Starting at the hardly believed low price of $499 this new machine is sure to rock the world.

Available for shipping in the next 60 days, customers will begin to experience the future.

It is the dream of many, to have a high speed internet connection and mobile device suited for the experience wherever you go. Now apple has created the sleek new ipad.

What remains unclear is whether the iPad will be a phone replacement, or simply another thing to carry around. What would make an iphone user switch? How revolutionary is it really, if you can only make phone calls over the internet?

We shall see.

Read this article for the live blog feed from today.

Will the iPad deliver? goodbye to cellphones?

2010-02-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

Apple's latest high-tech gear to be unveiled Wednesday January 27th.

The 'iPad' will sport all the same in/out connectivity as the current iPhone 3GS, including a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack, built-in speaker grills, a microphone, GPS, 3G connectivity and a 30-pin dock connector. A 10-inch display is framed by a black border that bleeds into its wrap-around aluminum enclosure.

Functioning as a Macbook/iphone hybrid the 'ipad' will hopefully run wireless internet everywhere phone service is available. Will it be 4G compatible? Almost certainly.

What will this do to cellphones?? Are people going to run bluetooth off their ipads and never pick up a cellphone again? How may this push Google to create their ultimate wireless internet device?

Endless possibilities.

Google Wave and the evolving social networks

2010-02-09T09:55:00.004-07:00

Well my friends, good old Google has done it again. WAVE...

Perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps not.
What is a wave exactly? Well...
For well over a year, Google has been developing a revolutionary online social tool, the Wave, which integrates email, instant messaging, and social networks into one program.

A wave is equal parts conversation and documentation.

People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more in real-time.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

They have had this project going for over a year and half and are finally making steps towards giving it to the public. If you have the time watch this video, it is long though, let me warn you, but thrilling none the less, it will rock your world..

So... wave, online super social tool. This new software integrates our email, instant message and social networks into flowing livestream waves. You can watch your friends as they type a response live to your email, or easily add a friend to the conversation. This is truly revolutionary.

I think this will be google's advantage in selling it's Nexus One phone, they will have already developed the software to fully integrate this extraordinary social tool into their handheld mobile devices. I am excited to see how well this catches on, but just from this video I think it will spread fast and radically change the way people communicate. Oh Google...

There is a lot more to say about this subject and I will follow up soon.

For more check out this article at lifehacker.

The Death of Contracts

2010-02-05T15:37:00.003-07:00

So the evolution has occurred.

Apple's Iphone is the dominant mobile internet device in the world, but now Google, the search engine powerhouse, has attempted to keep up with them.

What I see as Apple's major downfall was its contract with AT&T. That restricted so many people from owning and using the Iphone. It also created an elitism surrounding the Iphone. You have to pay a monthly premium just to use the damn thing, whereas, if they sold it unlocked, it could have been bought and used for any service and would have ended up in more hands.

What I love about Google is it's ability expand and simplify. Granted the Nexus One costs $530 new unlocked $179 with T-mobile contract, but it will hopefully lead to better and better internet capabilities on mobile phones. Google is also making a big step by freeing us from the chains of service provider contracts, which has not been a widely practiced strategy thus far.

I believe the time of contracts and subsidized phones will soon come to an end in America. People are sick of all the bureaucracy and unpleasantness of dealing with cellphone companies. I've traveled abroad and no one else is using contracts, it is simply a trap employed by America's major phone corporations.

Google's easy to use retail site online also simplifies things and gives some power back to the people. No more waiting in long lines at the whim of phone company's time schedule.
This is how we at Cellular Recycler operate; no contracts, no messy experience, we just sell you a phone as it is, for what it is worth and you choose what you do with it. Once Google phones make it through their first short-life, we will fix them, refurbish them and give them life once again... at a much cheaper price.

We are in an exciting time, Mobility and Internet access have merged and this will change the world... quickly and forever. Beware the birth of the 4G network. For a full review of Google's Nexus One release please check out this blog from the release party.

What we are doing matters

2009-06-15T16:28:00.004-06:00

Seth Goden often gives a reason to laugh or learn that makes you stop and smile and think that what we are doing for our life is well...... not to bad

-When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
-When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.
-When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.
-When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.
-When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter. -When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter. --When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter.
-When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.
-When you inspire a Nobel prize winner or a slum dweller, you matter.
-When the room brightens when you walk in, you matter.
And when the legacy you leave behind lasts for hours, days or a lifetime, you matter.

Dirty and Ugly

2009-05-06T11:29:00.004-06:00

For years we have been recycling cell phones for hundreds of wireless carriers and non profits. We have seen everything and have a smorgasbord of funny units on our wall fame so this article recently published in PC World was a good read.

Get into gear

2009-05-06T11:06:00.004-06:00

This is better than good advise that Seth Godin has given us. As a medium sized business owner you look for creative motivational tools everyday to grow your business and to make yourself and your employees prosper. You coach and coach every day but changing some of the elementary ways you began business and where and how you grow tomorrow is needed and the suggestions below are perfect to break it up:

-Buy a competitor
-Sell to a competitor
-Publish your best work for free online
-Close your worst-performing locations
Open a new branch in a high-traffic location
-Hire the best salesperson away from the competition
-Join the competition
-Host a conference for your competitors
-Fire the 80% of your customers that account for 20% of your sales
-Start a blog
-While looking for a job, spend 40 hours a week volunteering and freelancing for good causes
-Go on tour and visit your best customers in person
-Answer the customer service line for a day
-Let the most junior person in the organization run things for a day
-Delete your website and start over with the simplest possible site
-Call former employees and ask for advice
-Move to Thailand
-Listen to audio books in your car instead of the radio
-Sell your cash cow division to the competition and invest everything in the new thing
-Find more products for your existing customers to buy
-Become a gadfly and tell the truth about your industry
-Quit your job
-Move your operations to another city
-Have all meetings in a room with no chairs, and everyone wears a bathrobe over their clothes
-Open your offices only four hours a day
-Open your offices 24 hours a day for a week
-Find every project that is near the danger zone (in terms of p&l or deadlines) and cancel it, no -appeals
-Go for a walk during lunch
-Get an RSS reader and read a lot more blogs
-Go offline for longer than you thought possible
-Write five thank you notes every day
-Stop sending spam
-Do your work somewhere else. Set up your chiropractic table at the mall
-Have everyone at work switch offices
-Give your most valuable possessions to a stranger
-Start a company scrapbook and take daily notes
-Hire a firm to make a documentary about your organization
-Buy some art
-Make some art.
-Do the work.

Cell Phone Shipments Down 20% in 2009

2009-04-22T20:39:00.004-06:00

With out a doubt Matt Richtel from the New York Times hit the nail on the head in his recent article "This Old Phone? Good Enough for Me." People in this challenging economic downturn, if that is what you want to call it, are pinching everywhere they can. And ultimately, a phone is a phone is a phone. If it dials out and can send a text, then it is probably good enough for today.

For cell phone recyclers and wholesalers, at least for the time-being this seems to mean that sales of used equipment are up. One thing we've noticed is that a lot of people are turning to pre-paid phones - in some cases we've seen sales from pre-paids quadruple from Q4 2008. Going month-to-month is a safe and easy change for people who have lost their job or who are insecure about committing that extra year contract.

Whether 2009 has you buying a brand-new iPhone or hanging onto that old piece with the cracked screen and duct-tape, I hope manufacturers and carriers are looking into their crystal balls to see how they can help consumers through this recession and prepare us all for a more positive outlook in 2010.

'Lets Ride' The last day of the Colorado ski season

2009-04-20T23:00:00.002-06:00

So the last weekend of the season was upon us but I70 was closed. We were packed and ready to go Friday night but every weather and news report focused in on Colorado making the journey impossible. We are up 6am Saturday in route even though all indications were that the road wasn’t going to open. We took the US 40 frontage road as far as possible until we saw the gate on the freeway entrance. We sat with a few other snowboarding faithful and locals of Genesee planning their assault West. One hour passed then another and then a sign of hope. A big rig wrecker breezes by and shouts that we are about good to go. He hooks his rig to a long hauler just down the hill and begins to creep away.

The gate to enter I70 is still down but the Jeep has been running for an hour. Jason Gelfand, Kiel Hebert and I have our eyes fixed firmly on the highway that was just a hundred yards away. We see a Tahoe, then a Suburban, then a Discovery. These were no state regulated vehicles. With a heavy foot I blow by the gate. By the time I am down the on-ramp I see about 50 cars ahead of me and like a rally racer I hit the gas attempt to take the lead.

I pull into the parking lot in Breckenridge, throw my boots on and scurry to the gondola. I am excited! In my years of running the I70 gauntlet has God ever put together a last weekend such as this? Gondola to the Rocky Mountain Super Chair to the t-bar to the Imperial express and a hike to the top. On April 18 we stood at 12,998 feet in elevation with the whole mountain in front of us.

The wind and snow is furious. It was cold but your focus is only on the next step. I couldn’t have been breathing heavier but Jason and I looked at each other, smiled, took a moment’s pause and said ‘Lets Ride’.

I take my hat off to the workers at cdot for clearing the roads of ice and stranded motorists Friday night. If it were not for their dedication to one of the hardest professions in Colorado and their coordination with local law enforcement we would have never had the best closing day in all my years of living in this great state.

Party for the Planet for E-Waste Recyclers

2009-04-20T08:15:00.003-06:00

Pay attention to this event and it is two fold smart. Not only is the San Francisco Zoo holding a electronics recycling drive for for free admission, it is giving discounts for those who ride their bicycles. Events such as these give the choice in two different but equally important ways to contribute to be eco friendly while at the same time running a great promotion to sell tickets for their zoo.

The San Francisco Zoo will be having a “Party for the Planet” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow, which includes a self-guided scavenger hunt, green-themed music and puppet performances, and a sneak preview of Disneynature's Earth.

Attendees bicycling to the event will receive $2 off admission, and those who drive and recycle their electronics at the event's e-waste collection site on Herbst Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will receive one free admission per car.

NBA to kick off its first "green week" Thursday

2009-04-06T10:15:00.003-06:00

I appreciate guys like Steve Nash of the NBA who are truly trying to make an impact and set the example for others in his sport. His quotes from this USA Today story are a refreshing change from the excesses of many professional athletes. Professional sports needs an athlete to take a lead and I hope we have more to follow in the footprint he is trying to make.

Senior Center is communicating the Cause

2009-03-31T16:05:00.003-06:00

Read up on the Pottsville Pennsylvania Senior Centers recycling and fundraising efforts in the Republican Herold

Can You Find Me Now?

2009-03-22T22:18:00.003-06:00

For the post paid people of the world who would actually want to be found if an emergency were to hit, you will find a helpful list if tips and tricks that will help save your life.

Tips for helping police and rescue workers find you in an emergency:

-Don't hang up. When you call 911, the longer you keep the line open, the better the chance emergency personnel will find you.
-Tell operators your location as soon as possible. Be specific.
-Ask your cellular provider what method they use to locate 911 calls on your phone.
-Consider replacing phones more than 2 years old. Newer phones have GPS chips that can tell 911 operators your location.
-If you live in a rural area, pick a phone with GPS rather than triangulation as its location method. Rural areas have fewer towers, which makes it harder to fix your position.

For those of you who want to stay off the radar of law enforcement whether they are there to help save your live or not; stick to your prepaid non GPS devise.

Greening your exercise routine

2009-03-13T11:40:00.004-06:00

Being a middle aged environmentalist entrepreneur and avid gym rat, I found Katherine Thompson's article on greening your exercise routine a really fun and informative.

-Don't drive to work out, if you can help it. Work out at home or nearby. If you're a gymgoer, join one within walking or biking distance of your home. Added bonus: You'll be more likely to go if it's closer. Or join one near work so you can make it part of your daily routine without adding more car miles. If you're racing, try to carpool or take public transportation.
-At the gym, don't be a towel hog. Just because you aren't the one doing the laundry doesn't mean it's OK to use four towels per shower at the local Y. Better yet, bring your own, and wash it once a week.
-Be aware of your equipment. Some manufacturers are attempting to use more sustainable materials and practices; patronize them. Brooks, for example, now makes a running shoe with a midsole that decomposes in a landfill a lot faster than those in other shoes. You can also buy exercise apparel made of recycled polyester, organic cotton, or wool.
-Recycle what you can. Don't ditch old shoes and clothes; wear them as long as you can, and then donate them to charity or recycle them. (To find out how to recycle or donate old shoes, go to www.runnersworld.com/donate.) It goes without saying you should recycle plastic drink bottles; better yet, use your own refillable one as much as possible.
-Reduce your gear consumption. Ignore some of the shiny new products, and make do with what you have. As a bonus, this will save you money. (Here's a list of 5 ways your workout can weather the recession.) And when you do a race, don't take the goody bag or free T-shirt if you're just going to throw it away in a few months.
-Buy food and drink in bulk. Sports bars, gels, and drinks are sold in conveniently small packages that you can take along on your ride or hike. But instead, buy the largest sizes available, then chop up bars, put gels in a refillable flask, and use your own bottle for liquids.
-Don't pollute. While you're training or racing, do what campers do and pack out waste until you can find a place to trash, compost, or recycle it. You can go above and beyond by devoting, say, one hike or run a month to cleaning up the trash left by others on your favorite route.

Colorado needs additional recycling outlets

2009-03-08T14:15:00.004-06:00

Please watch this clip of a Denver News program promoting an effort for Denver residents to recycle used electronics. The video is evidence that we need more stationary recycling kiosks placed around the front range. We at Cellular Recycler are making strides for the small electronics and the recovery of assets for non profits and wireless carriers but we it is evident Americans are looking for a structured way to recycle large old electronics.

KUSA - The event turnout was so big, 9NEWS collected 25 semi-trucks full of old electronics.

Some people waited in line for more than a few hours to turn in their used electronics. The turnout was so huge, some people had to be turned away. People were showing up with truckloads of old electronics and 9NEWS had to close all 5 drop-off locations early. 9NEWS, Waste Management, Comcast and LG Electronics provided this service for free. For those who did turn their electronics in, thank you. For those who were not able to participate, but tried to make the effort, we thank you too. 9NEWS is in discussions and hopes to hold another Electronics Recycling Event.

Simmons Bank Collecting Used Cell Phones-Fundraiser for Relay for Life

2009-03-08T13:34:00.003-06:00

Being a University of Arkansas graduate, it is nice to see a cell phone recycling program we have started here in Colorado has reached back to my home college state.

Simmons Bank is collecting used cell phones as a fund raiser for the Relay for Life.
Collected phones will be sold to Cellular Recycler and proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society during the Relay.

Used cell phones may be dropped off by March 6, 2009 at Simmons Bank in Monticello, Simmons Bank, hte ATT Corporate Store, and Custom Wireless in Monticello.

Sprint’s Ambitious Recycling Goal

2009-03-01T15:53:00.002-07:00

Sprint recently announced a new, industry-leading objective to reach a 90 percent phone collection rate for reuse and recycling by 2017.

In 2008, Sprint collected more than three million units. This was equal to 34 percent of devices sold, an increase from 22 percent in 2007. Of the handsets that Sprint collected in 2008, more than 90 percent were reused.

According to the company, the U.S. contains over 270 million cell phone users, and more than 140 million cell phones are discarded every year. Additionally, a recent Sprint survey examining consumers’ mobile phone recycling habits found that nine out of 10 surveyed own at least one, or as many as five, old, unused mobile phones.

Motorola makes "green" play with recycled phone

2009-01-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Motorola has come up with a phone made from recycled water bottles, the company said today, adding that it reduced the handset's carbon footprint from making, distributing and operating the phone by planting trees and investing in alternative-energy technology. T-Mobile USA will begin marketing the W233 phone this quarter.

Green IT resolutions

2009-01-02T10:38:00.002-07:00

Harry Fuller and Heather Clancy from their blog Green Tech Pastures offer 10 Green IT Resolutions that businesses will embrace in the coming 12 months: I wrote about money saving ideas for 2009 in November but their take for the new year is definitely worth the read. These ideas are nothing new but I find that even I need to be refreshed on the basics:

-Steal some T&E budget for conferencing technology:
-Support and encourage telecommuting:
-Establish baselines to improve corporate carbon profiles:
-Adopt power management:
-Go paperless:
-Incorporate virtualization and consolidation into routine data center practices:
-Establish an audit trail for e-waste:
-Add “green” metrics to technology evaluation criteria:
-Look to the cloud:
-Insist on a seat during larger corporate green discussions:

Stay with the White Elephant

2008-12-21T14:03:00.002-07:00

It seems like everywhere I turn companies have decided to cancel their holiday parties this year. Citing dropping stock prices, sinking revenues, overall economy worries, etc., organizations of all sizes and types are joining the trend. Even companies that are doing well are forgoing the yearly festivities because they would be “inappropriate” or “insensitive” in this time of uncertainty and layoffs. Apparently scaling down from previous year’s party is not enough-

It is a tough decision.

Celebrating the holiday season has a very human basis to it that is independent of whether these are good times or bad. Companies can’t treat a traditional event, even one as unnatural and stilted as subjecting everyone’s spouse to my drunken 08 reflection and 09 outlook. You spend so much time around these people during the year that it is flat necessary to get a quick peak into who they spend all their other time with, and what they are like when they bring that new fiancé that nobody has yet seen. I understand not wanting to insult employee’s intelligence when they overhear sales totals, but what about your guys you can’t do without? Doesn’t their morale count?

Sure you have to be sensitive to budgetary concerns but that should mean scale back, not phase out.

Survey calls for recycling of old handsets

2008-12-16T15:53:00.002-07:00

Nokia Communications Manager East and Central Africa, Dorothy Ooko briefs the press on the newly launched Take Back and Recycling Campaign in Kenya for old handsets. Please click here to view Nokias efforts for e-waste in Africa.

Part 2: Designing the Papa John's Collection Program

2008-12-08T21:04:00.005-07:00

This multipart project consisted of on-air advertising, web messaging and, most importantly, internal communication for the Papa Johns Pizza team. We were confident in our ability to get the web portion of the campaign dialed in and get recycling collection boxes to the stores for customers who picked up. Management at Papa Johns was excited about the new promotion as well, but their internal communication would be intense. Papa John’s marketing team had to communicate to 81 store managers and also wanted to provide incentives for both stores and employees.

Looking at the radio spots, we needed to reach the 313K KYGO weekly audience. We calculated the 41 Colorado stores who deliver thousands of pizzas per week in coordination with the $17K in advertising budget dollars for the 40-day length of the campaign. We put our heads together and decided on the evening drive time. There would be a 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. 30-second drive time spot and the 60-second live version that would hit the drive time audience between the hours of 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. by the drive time DJ Catfish. We really liked the fact that a personality would carry our message. Sometimes the best you can do is make these decisions based on personal habits and advice from the experts in radio. I have a tendency to change the channel when I hear a commercial but when my DJ keeps talking into his segment I generally listen. According to our calculations, if 2% of the 313K listeners who heard our message, believe in our mission, and donated their phone over the life of the campaign, we would break even and at worst get some good exposure out of this campaign. If we got over 2% then it would be high fives all the way around.

We placed the Papa Johns banner on the Cellular Recycler home page linking to the campaign details page. If a participating customer would want to learn more on where the donations would be going or what would happen to their old phone they wouldn’t have to dig too deep to get their desired information.

We knew when writing this 30-second spot, there is little time and many words needed to get a point across. Our order of priority was: free breadsticks, give without giving during the holiday season, Papa Johns Pizza, supporting our troops, and THEN Cellular Recycler. Our name says what we do but the last thing on our mind was brand recognition because the focus was phone collection.

Read Part 1 of this series.

Guide to Greener Electronics

2008-11-19T21:40:00.001-07:00

Greenpeace recently wrote the guide to greener electronics about the top 18 manufacturers recycling guide which included mobile phones.
Nokia does have the easiest phones and readily available parts for refurbishing. Refurbishing is reuse and I can speak on behalf of cell phone recycling.

I suspect the climbers in the middle have some hefty advertising budgets rather than solutions they are putting in place but either way the article is a good temperature gage for where we are at today.

Green your Routine

2008-11-17T13:32:00.004-07:00

Being in the green business world I am always curious when a large conglomerate campaigns or advertises their green message. During Sunday Night football last night, I noticed that the NBC peacock was all green, instead of the usual rainbow, so I went to the website. I have to say that the Green Tips section from the main page were a lot of fun to read and it actually got me thinking about all the computers and the server we have running here at Cellular Recycler. I have included the ‘work’ section from the Green Tips below but if you have the time go through the rest of these helpful tips.

-Make your coffee break greener. There are many ways to make your coffee break eco-friendly. For example, putting sugar in your cup before you pour your coffee will eliminate the need for a stirrer. Also, use a ceramic mug instead of a Styrofoam or paper cup.

-Print smarter. Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office. To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet. More printing tips can be found on Life Hacker

-Turn off your computer. Do you leave your computer on overnight? If so, you're using up a good amount of electricity. When you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it's connected to. If you can't, at least shut off your monitor. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.

-Recycle at the work place. It seems easy enough, but if you're office doesn't do it already, suggest putting recycling bins in your kitchen and copy rooms. You'll feel less guilty about throwing away all that paper.

-Use eco-friendly utensils. Replace those plastic knives and forks in the break room with silverware or biodegradable utensils. If you have the space, try to get everyone in the office to bring their own mugs and plates from home.

It just goes to show you even when the environment is on your mind every day you can still lose sight of the basics. Not only do the basics help lessen the footprint we make, the basics can help you save a little green, and right now that is needed advice.

Part 1: Hatching an Idea for the First Cell Phone Recycling Pick-Up Campaign

2008-11-16T20:00:00.004-07:00

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about a new Cellular Recycler campaign with Papa John's Pizza. Here is my first post about the idea behind the campaign.

Shortly after the 2007 NFL football season, I was listening to Sports Radio 950 the fan (now FM 104.3). Now, I have never done radio advertising and we definitely haven’t done it for Cellular Recycler. But, as I was listening, I thought it might be a good venue for letting soccer moms and football dads out there know that there was a new fundraising option instead of the every day popcorn and Christmas wreath sales that both kids and parents (and their parents' officemates)have to endure. The station was nice enough to invite us down to talk about a possible partnership. Admittedly, I didn’t know exactly what we were after, except that I felt it was time to take cell phone recycling to the people through a more widespread public campaign.

Although it was fun to see Scott Hastings and Alfred Williams doing their radio show, it wasn’t a great fit initially. We found out pretty quickly that 90% of their listeners were male. (You might say ‘duh’, but remember that at the time we were new to the whole radio advertising thing.) From our experience of building ground floor collection campaigns with companies like the American Cancer Society, we knew that we really needed to communicate with women in order to have a successful campaign. (Why? Honestly, I don’t know, but I plan to explore this in a future post.) Bottom line – sports radio was definitely not the right medium to test this “widespread public campaign” concept. Nonetheless, we left the meeting with confidence because at least we tried, failed, and learned from the experience.

It turned out that all wasn’t lost because Lincoln Financial Media, owner of 950 The Fan, also owns the country pop station KYGO, and it has a very solid and faithful base of female listeners. Our account rep had taken the cell phone recycling and fundraising concept to one of the station’s clients, Papa John’s Pizza. All of a sudden, we had a huge company like Papa John’s Pizza that was looking for an environmental edge and loved being the first with a message like this to its customers.

In the past, our team has fought and fought to get out cell phone recycling kits to business and non-profits, place recycling bins in retail stores, and train employees at wireless carriers about recycling. But this idea was truly different. This would be an opportunity for us to partner with a great company, promote the program to the general public, offer people a way to recycle their electronics, and raise money for a great cause. Papa Johns Pizza was even willing to offer its customers free breadsticks for their donation and use the program to fundraise for one of Papa John’s charitable partners, the USO.

Given what’s going on with the economy and how likely charitable organizations are to suffer, everything just seemed to click. Within three hours, our teams had hashed out a plan and set the wheels in motion for the first pick-up campaign for cell phone recycling. And at Cellular Recycler, we finally had a chance to take a campaign directly to the people.

Stay tuned – next I’ll talk about how we designed the collection program.

Making it Convenient to be Green

2008-11-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

Thought you might want to see a featured piece on Cellular Recycler from Handset & Accessory magazine this month. I don’t know if you guys are on-line subscribers so click here to view the full article.

Metro P Cricket S

2008-11-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

The Recession this country faces may actually be helping the low end wireless guys like Metro PCS and Cricket Wireless. Consumers are turning to VOIP at home or lighting up pre paid units to cut costs where they can. An article in the Wall Street Journal recently let its readers know of Metro PCS’s intent to re-use other carriers used phones. Our business is recycling these old phones and giving them new life but two name brand carriers of the pre-paid persuasion are now being more up front about what phones they let light up on their network. One wonders if this sales tactic or ploy is for activation numbers or an advertising effort to keep up with their Cricket Competitors. I am willing to bet we see the ‘green’ go away in my neighborhood and see the bright lights of orange, red and purple signs light up our pre-paid space here in Colorado.

Papa Johns partners with Cellular Recycler

2008-11-06T12:20:00.003-07:00

Donate a Cell Phone, Enjoy Free Breadsticks, Support our US Troops and Protect the Environment

Colorado Papa John's pizza locations will be collecting old, unused, broken and still working cell phones this holiday season. Every customer who drops off or gives a cell phone to a Papa John’s delivery driver will be given a gift certificate for a FREE order of breadsticks with their next order. All cell phones will broken down for parts or refurbished by local Boulder company Cellular Recycler. All efforts are taken to protect the environment and prevent unused cell phones from polluting our landfills. Proceeds from the collection of these cell phones will be donated, on behalf of Papa John's Pizza of Colorado, to the Rocky Mountain USO to benefit our US Troops.

WHEN: NOV 5 thru DEC 15
WHO: Papa John’s Delivery Drivers asking for and picking up old, unused, broken and still working cell phones to benefit our US Troops and our precious environment.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit http://www.cellularrecycler.com/papajohns

i commute

2008-10-13T21:52:00.001-06:00

For most of my professional career I have carried a standard issue cell phone. I use it like any other red blooded American. I make calls, send texts, and answer my voicemails. My good friend Sam Crumbaugh from Sony Ericsson http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/home?cc=us&lc=en who I have known for years always gives me my standard yearly issue Ericsson or so they are now called Sony Ericsson. I have been back and fourth with a few prototypes. Some good like the Z710 and others like the new 580i. The Z710i and I have a good relationship as it has held up well and been a good friend for years.

One of my fundamental problems being 36 is that I have always been on the outer cusp of being a high tech guy. I have been a part of the wireless industry for 12 plus years now and have never once got caught up in the hype of technology. New technology was not something that I was really interested in as I considered myself as the junk yard dog of the cell phone world. Whatever was produced and produced in mass would eventually be flowing downward and my recycling stream would pick it up.

I have a dead spot on my way home from work and as an old school salesman I am on the phone. I finally had it with T- Mobile and for the first time in my life considered actually purchasing a new phone. Keep in mind what I do. I have never ever had to get an activation much less actually purchase a ‘retail priced’ phone. With the current hype surrounding the iphone http://www.apple.com/iphone/ I graduated toward an AT&T store and immediately grabbed the display unit. I looked at my wife Anne and said ‘well which one the black or white’?

My hesitation or fear with a PDA was that I didn’t want to be connected to work 24/7 so I told myself that I would ease into this new devise and not make myself crazy.

I mentioned to you my resistance or ‘old school nature’ well that changed the second I opened the box and their was no manual. That was the coolest thing ever and I was hooked on whatever apple had in store with me and this new phone. I got the itunes, I got the email synced, I got the weather settings and some cool apps. Man, I love this phone!

As time goes by with anything excitement fades, but this is not what this story is about. I am sharing my thoughts with you as a small business owner today, as I am two months in with my new iphone. It is my job to know when it is a good idea for a person who works here at Cellular Recycler to have this kind of device and whether or not it can be a valuable tool to make a certain employee or there respective company more money. What I found in my situation living here in Boulder Colorado http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/ is that my commute is short and my routine is steady. I live a few miles away. I am not stuck in Los Angeles traffic two hours each way. I get home, I go to the gym across the street, I make and eat dinner then I get on my computer for an hour or so. My routine as a small town businessman allows me to have computer access basically on command so the feature and fear of having my business life glued to my fingertips never became the reality.

The reality is this. From a phone guy, this is a cool phone. No doubt the coolest I have put in my pocket. But for a small business owner and having to make the decision for the income generators and decision makers of Cellular Recycler the coolness and infinite features doesn’t outweigh the $150 per month usage charge in our case of doing business in a small town.

Brandon Greenhaw

Hollywood needs a 'green' phone

2008-07-20T16:19:00.003-06:00

The idea was posed here at Cellular Recycler to make a Green phone. Sure the idea of a recycled phone or a phone remanufactured from spare parts isn't a new idea; it is in fact darn near old as the cell phone industry is as a whole. But what about that very phone that is comprised of used parts that would include a green shell. Not just green plastic but actually 'green' recycled plastic that is actually the color GREEN.

This idea has been bounced around by between the management of Cellular Recycler but a conclusion has never been reached to actually pull the trigger on the molding and texture of this 'green' phone. One of our fundamental problems is that we needed to make this product cool for US consumers. Selling a used or vintage phone to today’s youth is a road that I quite frankly I will not spend the time on.

My thought at it's inception is that if we could find a Hollywood contingent that would find our product appealing and sport it as a fashion accessory to being a better steward of the environment then we will have a product that will in fact sell and has the potential for millions in revenue. You see what David Pinsky and Motorola are doing here in this article that makes so much sense: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_29_22/ai_63639213

Every company is looking for that green edge because that is the trend. Their isn't a fortune 500 company that wont have a snippet of sustainability phrasing in there website because it is a monkey see monkey do world. I do hope that the David Pinsky's of the world with the help of the millions that a company like Motorola has in their advertising and PR reserves will be interested in maybe a different type of campaign. A campaign and product line that lessens the global footprint on the earth my just making and selling new phones to their public. This plan would and could just be another model in Motorola’s lineup. Remember that Motorola has a job and that is to sell cell phones. This is just a new creative way to do it-

Brandon Greenhaw
Cellular Recycler

Electronic Serial Killers

2008-03-06T08:27:00.002-07:00

A scam that is little known about out in the cellular industry relies on using esn’s (electronic serial number) of handsets that are not actually being activated. By playing with this scam game, a person can gain sometimes a free month of service (depending on the carrier’s promotions at the time) or at least getting a spiff (commission) for a new activation. A person will request esn’s from a vendor and claim to be verifying it with the carrier they are saying they are planning to activate it with.

Ultimately they are taking that esn and assigning it to a phone of their own that they can sell and activate for more money versus buying the unit from the vendor and using it. This is a common issue on Ebay as well where “rookie” Ebay stores will post esn’s to try to gain credibility with the prospective buyer yet will become a victim instead of making a sale.

Last but not least another common practice is taking a manufacturer esn and using it with a higher end unit, like buying a Motorola v262 failed unit for $2.00 and then taking that esn and using it with a Motorola v3c refurbished that you are selling for $120.00 and are gaining a free month of service to boot. It’s a crazy world out there in the resale world so everyone be careful and hang onto your product’s identity till it is paid for and shipped.

Certifiable Cities

2008-02-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Throughout the years with being involved in the wholesale industry I have realized trends in cities where there are companies that consistently prey upon other vendors by stealing handsets through the use of counterfeit cashiers checks or through canceled company checks. Brooklyn, Houston, Detroit (and surrounding cities), and Harlem are a few examples of areas that are occupied by crooked individuals. Houston and Detroit being the most disappointing since they are two of the fastest growing areas yet are laden with corrupt individuals which deter my interest in selling to new customers altogether. But the real question is why this continues to be an issue in these areas of the country. Are criminal charges for using fraudulent checks within the states of Michigan, Texas, New York so light that they can get away with it or is it due to the robust size of these metropolitan areas where law enforcement has other obligations to attend to besides felony theft?

Factory Refurbished or Level 4. You be the judge.

2008-02-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

Remember the old days where factory refurbished really meant the manufacturer handled the refurbishment? They even had a warranty to go along with the handsets as well? The product was amazing and at that time, continued to extend brand loyalty further out in the developing world long after a model had been discontinued in the U.S. Russia is a prime example of an emerging cellular market that is very loyal towards one brand, Nokia.

Now, others in the wholesale industry have embraced this product condition as a term in which they can attempt validate their own sourced or refurbished product that it is OEM quality and is above all other refurbished goods in the market. But to make matters worse, barely any manufacturers handle their own refurbishment (all is outsourced) and they don’t stand behind their product anymore either.

I don’t mind that manufacturers have honed in their business to a point where parts are no longer in abundance and are forced to use them up on out of warranty/ BER handsets. What are hard to accept though are manufacturers not offering out warranties on their refurbished goods. Selling handsets that have been cosmetically reconditioned to a new condition and still are being sold as is makes it difficult to buy these products with confidence anymore.

Greener Gadgets Confrence

2008-02-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, the Greener Gadgets Confrence in New York, revealed some new greener technologies that could show up sooner than you'd think. With cell phones quickly becoming a hot topic in the e-waste discussion the new green technologies manufacturers are experimenting with could quickly make it to market.

Photo courtsey of Cnet.com

Nokia showcased a phone with the outer casing made from Bioplastic. This form of plastic utilizes renewable raw materials and is more friendly to recycling. Nokia plans to bring their first bioplastic phone to the Euro market late in Q1.

Learn More about Brandon Greenhaw

How does Cell Phone Recycling work?

2008-02-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Inform, a non-profit environmental research company, has recently produced a short video explaining how cell phone recycling works, and what isn't working about it. Inform is responsible for researching most of the statistics used by anyone who ends up writing an article about cell phone recycling, not to mention how often it can be found on cell phone recycler's websites.

The only inaccuracy about this film is that many cell phone recyclers don't remove the information from your phone. The information from you phone will most likely get erased during the refurbishing process, however, this is not a responsibility cell phone recyclers typically take on due to the time intensive nature of the process.

Nonetheless the rest of the video answers many of the frequently asked questions from my experience, and was well put together. Check it out below.

Click here to learn more about Brandon Greenhaw

Cell Phone Jail

2008-01-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Bob Sullivan, an MSNBC technology consultant, recently wrote about the plight Americans are facing every day with postpaid carriers and some tricky ways out of your contract. As we all know, most wireless carriers in the U.S. make you sign your life away for a free phone. This practice effectively does two things, misconstrue Americans perception of the actual cell phone value (Razors are not free believe it or not) and forces premature upgrades.

Currently, the average life of a cell phone in America is 18 months, while its been proposed in certain studies that a cell phones have actually been designed to last up to seven years. Before there was a cell phone recycling market, this frequent upgrading was creating unnecessary e-waste. However, the general public is wising up and realizing that their old phone still has a use. Whether its being melted down for its precious metals, being provided as a 911 life line, or raising money for a non-profit, retired phones are increasingly finding an alternate home.

There are a myriad of companies out there that will take your old phone and find a second home for it, but how do you choose one? Here are some helpful hints in choosing a company to give your old cell phone to:

Price guide: Make sure you read the fine print. Some companies will only pay you if your phone is in perfect working order. Also, don't be fooled into thinking your going to get the most for your cell phone just because they pay UP TO $300. Odds are your not going to have that type of phone to turn in, its a marketing scam.
Shipping: Shipping should always be free. Most of the companies offer free shipping via USPS, UPS, or FedEx.

Click here to learn more about Brandon Greenhaw

Maine Adopts Cell Phone Recycling Law

2008-01-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Following California and New York, Maine became the third state in the U.S. to put a cell phone recycling law in place effective January 1, 2008. This law, closely following California's Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, requires retailers who sell cellular phones to provide a free cell phone recycling option to their customers. Starting January 1, 2009 retailers will be required to report how many phones were collected to the Maine division of the EPA.

For years now there has been a trend of state legislatures addressing E-scrap issues by passing laws requiring manufacturers to take back their own products when they've reached their end of life (here is a great site that is keeping track of who's doing what). However, cell phones are getting special treatment because of the value they carry in their second life. Private companies across America have proved for years that cell phone recycling is a profitable venture, and local governments are taking notice.

By making cell phone recycling a law, local legislatures are giving the economy as well as the environment a boost, as the more cell phones there are to be recycled, the more new jobs get created to process those cell phones.

What happens to the information on a phone that gets recycled?

2008-01-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

The majority of phones that are recycled actually get re-used. But, before they can end up in an end consumer’s hand, they typically get refurbished. This is the process of cosmetically/functionally repairing a phone. During the refurbishing process phones will eventually be hooked up to a flashing station which clears out the memory of a phone in order to re-load new software onto the phone. The company that you turned your phone into does not necessarily have the capability of clearing the data of every phone that comes in their door, not to mention that it is cost prohibitive for them to do so.

However, its usually very easy for you to clear the data out of your phone before you turn it in. Go to the Security option in your main menu (or it could be under the setting menu) this menu option typically requires a password which is almost always the last 4 digits of the phone number that was registered to that phone (even if its not active). The key words to look for in the security menu are Master Reset, and Master Clear. These will usually erase your phone book, Text messages, and Call Log. If you are still having trouble, use the internet to search out your phone model + master clear.

Union Wireless to recycle cell phones for the American Cancer Society

2008-01-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

Union Wireless, a rural telecommunications provider to Northern Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, has setup recycling drop-offs at all of their retail locations. All proceeds from these recycled phones gets donated to the American Cancer Society.

Here is a cool add they were running during the Planet Earth Series on the Discovery channel.

To look up their store locations you can follow this link

EPA Press Release: Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's an Easy Call.

2008-01-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

The EPA recenty issued a press release more specifically addressing cell phone recycling. The EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program, a partnership between the EPA and electronics manufacturers has been in existance for a number of year now, but it appears that the EPA has decided to put an emphasis on the cell phone recycling component.

Reasons for this may be due to the sustainable nature of cell phone recycling, as there is a large market for old phones which helps cover the costs of cell phone recycling and in some cases can even net in a profit.

How does cell phone recycling raise money for Non-profits?

2007-12-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

As seen in my previous post, the vast majority of cell phones that are turned into cell phone recycling companies are candidates for re-use. Cell phone recyclers re-sell these phones to refurbishing companies who will take the old phone and perform any cosmetic/functional repairs to make it ready for the end consumer. Part of the sale price to the refurbishing company is paid out to the non-profit or individual who turned in the phone. The price a non-profit or individual gets for a recycled phone varies greatly depending on the phone turned in and the company who it was turned into.
In general, newer phones are worth more money (some upwards of $100), however if your recycling a box of old phones you should look for an average of $2-$3 per phone.

What really happens to the phone you recycle?

2007-12-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Cell phone recycling is a commonly misunderstood term by consumers who turn in their phone to a recycling company. The word recycling implies that the cell phones are broken down into their raw materials for reuse in future products.However, this only happens with approximately 10% of the phones turned in.

These phones have truly reached their end of life due to their technological obsolescence which prevents them from working on any network worldwide. There are only a few materials that make economical sense to recover from phones, commonly the precious metals used in the circut borad.

The other 90% of cell phones turned into recycling companies are re-sold all around the world for re-use. Cell phones in developed countries, like the U.S., are rarely used for the full extent of their useful life, and are a primary candidate for re-use because their core functionality of making/receiving calls and text messages remains unchanged.

Greenpeace Article

2007-12-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Greenpeace recently wrote an article about where e-waste ends up. It's a great flowchart of the world's trash - and why it is even more important to recycle e-waste.

The Global Impact of Cellular Technology Adoption

2007-12-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

While the economics of a business are among the first items to consider, its sustainability within the social environment is frequently a telling factor of long-term success. For Cellular Recycler, it is important to look at societal trends in recycling in the U.S. and global trends in communication, particularly in regards to developing countries.

Historically, there has been a technological imbalance between the affluent and less affluent and between developed and developing countries. Often referred to as the ‘trickle-down’ theory, technology products tend to be more expensive at the onset and therefore only available to the wealthy strata.

Over time, however, future iterations of the product become less and less expensive and therefore available and practical to the lower strata. The impact of this lifecycle on the cellular industry is that as cellular technology evolves, there will always be those who adopt the newest version and those who will wait, creating a continuous cycle of new and old product.

Cellular Recycler’s place in this industry allows us to help:

Non-profits with fundraising support through our collection programs;

The environment through prolonged use and proper disposal of cell phones; and

Developing countries to increase the growth of their GDP.