Recycle Cell Phones to Help Families Battling Cancer
I picked up two very cool DIY boxes from UMB today.
Remember that Cells for Cells does not provide collection boxes for cell phone drives. We encourage everyone to reuse any old box…just like UMB has done.
Additional Resources:
Link to the Battle Cancer Poster
Link to the Freighquote.com DIY Cell Phone Box Video
We received a handful of Blackberry 9000’s to recycle and they looked like someone took pliers to the back in an attempt to “destroy” the data. I can’t imagine a scenario where this is the solution to making a device “secure”. And, it should be concerning the the IT or Wireless manager in charge because this did nothing to the device except pull off the protective covers to the printed circuit board (PCB). Just about anyone with some know-how and a few basic forensic tools could pull data off of this device.
So here are some tips to help you with your data security concerns.
Master Reset a Blackberry, it defaults to factory settings and erases all data. Nothing will remain, with the exception of the Operating System (OS). Or, if you are a super geek, just use jl_cmder. (Curious? Google is your friend here.)
chips before you recycle your device. Even though your IT or Wireless manager can set your devices to not store any info or pictures on your SD card; you should still remove it.
battery has died. The telltale sign is that the battery is swollen or puffy. Snag a new battery from friend or co-worker to test if this is your issue.
You’ve just run over / stepped on / chucked your Blackberry and your screen is bleeding and/or dead. You are unable to read the screen to verify that you are taking the correct steps to wipe or clear it. Well, that is what your Blackberry Desktop Manager is for.
Try a Bluetooth solution for data and if power is the issue, try the Blackberry Power Station or an extra battery. (I am not going into detail; but you can at http://forums.crackberry.com/.)
I’ll let you read this PCMag article that references all the different smart phone types and services that can remotely wipe or clear said device.
The screen is dead, the usb port is dead, and I can’t get any power? (Also, you just got back from Las Vegas and Amsterdam and you don’t remember much! Well, take a look at the location of the on-board memory in the 9000. Do you see the Mobile DDR blinking at the bottom of the picture? Aim your drill bit right there and permanently “erase” your Blackberry.
In most cases, Google is your friend. How-to guides for doing just about any modification, recovery, or data clearing is as easy as Google. And as long as you aren’t doing anything illegal, unethical, or just downright gross; then what “security concerns” should you have?
Recycling Used Cell Phones: Yes, Even If Your Dog Chewed On It
Recycle Today: Timely Recycling Mean More Value For Your Charity
After Jason Clements and Aaron Randel both lost close family members to cancer, they wanted to raise money for people going through similar experiences.
They approached a friend at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with their idea of what would become Cells for Cells: Their business would work with corporations to recycle used mobile devices. Clements and Randel would then sell the refurbished parts and scrap metal, and sale proceeds would be directed to the cancer organization.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society said yes. Cells for Cells now has more than 100 corporate partners and has raised more than $30,000 for the organization.
The company’s founders hope the money they donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society helps relieve some of the everyday financial burdens families face.
The company also has developed the “Extreme Medical Bill Makeover,” which donates $500 or more to families who submit their stories.
“What happened to us happens to thousands of people every day,” says Dawn Wooten of Wichita, whose husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age 37. Cells for Cells gave them an outlet to tell their story. They became the first recipients of the makeover award.
Cells for Cells sent them a check for $500 to put wherever they needed it most.
“That doesn’t sound like much, but we were able to put that money toward one of Jeff’s medical bills,” she says. “Four and a half years after the original diagnosis, we still have an insane amount of medical debt, but every little bit helps.”
According to Gartner, world-wide cell phone handset sales were 1.211 Billion in 2009. And, the number of cell phone subscriptions are now 4.6 Billion.
Can we assume, that included inside of each of those 1.211 Billion new cell phone boxes, is a recycling baggie just like the ones pictured above?
Now, consider that the percentage of cell phones being recycled today, fall somewhere between 1% and 10%.
If we generously assume that all 10% of cell phones recycled are done so through the baggie program, then we are left with well over 1 Billion plastic baggies that will probably end up discarded in our landfills or our waterways and oceans.
This well-intentioned baggie recycling program is a complete environmental failure. Creating more waste, in the name of environmental good, is a shame.
When we first launched Cells for Cells in 2007, we provided a simple cardboard collection box to all of the companies that wanted to recycle with us. We distributed hundreds of boxes throughout Kansas City and received back very few. Even though cardboard is easily recycled, we realized that we were creating a lot of cardboard waste. So, we changed our process, and now Cells for Cells encourages everyone to re-use a cardboard box when you ship your devices to be recycled. The cardboard, in turn, will be re-used or recycled.
Cells for Cells partner, Freightquote.com took a standard office paper ream box and created this work of art:
Although most curbside recycling programs do not allow for any sort of plastic bag recycling, there are solutions. I have seen plastic bag recycling containers in some of our local grocery stores. I think that Wal-mart might have plastic bag receptacles, too.
Here is plasticbagrecycling.org. They have a state-by-state locator to help you find out where you can recycle your plastic bags.
I have an opinion that the baggie program teaches the public to only recycle one or two devices at a time.
Why not try to fill a box with old cell phones from family, friends, neighbors and co-workers? No matter what program or charity your cell phone recycling program supports, you still have the option to do more than just recycle. Become an advocate. Make it your mission to have your entire office recycle 2 or 4 or 10 devices per person. Re-use a cardboard box and make a difference in the environment and in the program you support.
8 Tips for Making Mobile Phone Recycling Easier
I do not want to admit it; but I will. I have not been very good at recycling at home. In fact, I have been downright terrible. I hardly ever use my recycling container.
How can I run one of the largest cell phone recycling programs of its kind and still possess a high degree of Recycling Apathy at my house? This must change!
My catchy phrase that I have used as an excuse for years is: “I care; but I just don’t care enough” to recycle. What is most interesting, as I look inside myself, is that I really never even tried to recycle at home. I always felt like it was a hassle to sort out my trash. I even got on my high horse and thought to myself, “I help to recycle thousands and thousands of cell phones – I am doing my part!” But, you know what? I have discovered that recycling at home is just as easy as taking out the trash. Yes, that is my personal recycling at the end of my driveway from this week.
1. Find one thing to recycle today and put it in your recycling container. Make it easy – like a newspaper or a plastic water bottle or milk jug or an aluminum can(s). For me, just getting started was easy enough to help me make this a new habit in my life.
2. Make it a fun, family project to look in your fridge and see what numbers are on your plastic bottles. In our community recycling program – Deffenbaugh’s Curbside Recycling, we can recycle plastics numbered 1 through 7. [What do those plastic recycling codes mean?]
3. Locate your most convenient recycling resources. Everyone lives near a school or church that has either a paper, glass, or multi-recycling container. Our glass recycler is a huge Ripple Glass purple container that is only 6/10 of a mile from my house. It takes me 1 minute to get there. Here is the Ripple Glass locator map to see where you can recycle your glass.
4. You might already be paying for it; so put it to use. I am charged a mandatory recycling fee of $5.10 on my trash invoice for three months of unlimited curbside recycling. I feel like I have a personal recycling butler come to my house once a week, take away all the stuff that can be recycled, and I only have to pay him 42 cents per week.
5. Educate yourself on everything that can be recycled in your community. Here is the list, in pdf format, of everything that Deffenbaugh Recycling accepts in their curbside recycling program.
6. Do it again next week…and the next…and the next…
Midwest’s largest trash and recycling company partners with eco-friendly initiative to help families battling cancer
Shawnee, KS (August 24, 2010)—Today’s strategic partnerships are more important than ever. By capitalizing on innovative talent and creative networking, Deffenbaugh Industries continues to build a name for itself as an eco-friendly brand. Now, with a new partnership with cell phone recycler, Cells for Cells, Deffenbaugh Industries will apply its momentum as one of the largest recyclers in the Midwest to invigorate local and national green initiatives.
As the largest trash collection and disposal company in the Kansas City region, Deffenbaugh Industries has already built a strong connection with the community. Since introducing curbside recycling to the Kansas City metro area in 1989 and through programs like the “One Earth, One Chance School Recycling Program” Deffenbaugh Industries encourages sustainability by showcasing leading-edge methods of recycling. These programs reward creative thinking, and encourage participants to look at sustainability as a lifestyle choice.
And now, their partnership with Cells for Cells, the largest recycling program which collects used cell phones to raise money for families battling cancer, allows Deffenbaugh Industries to do more than just recycle: Deffenbaugh Industries is helping families battling cancer.
Deffenbaugh Industries is leading the Midwest in green initiatives and encouraging the community to take simple actions. Recycling efforts cannot be successful when only a few individuals try to make sweeping changes: It’s when a large group of people and communities make tiny changes – like recycling a cell phone – that the results are staggering.
Cells for Cells primary beneficiary is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society whom they support nationally – working with 14 chapters. “We just want to help more families,” says Jason Clements, Cells for Cells co-founder. “Our partnership with Deffenbaugh Industries will allow us to raise awareness about recycling and the environment both locally and nationally.”
About Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc.
Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc., founded in 1957 is one of the largest waste and recycling services companies in the Midwest. Deffenbaugh Industries provides efficient collection, transportation, and disposal of commercial and residential waste and recycling, construction waste, portable toilet, and truck and industrial supplies services. Over its 50 years in operations, Deffenbaugh Industries has establish a reputation for superior customer service and satisfaction. Deffenbaugh Industries is headquartered in Kansas City and operates in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. For additional information please visit http://www.deffenbaughinc.com/
About Cells for Cells
Cells for Cells recycles cell phones to raise money for families battling cancer. Cells for Cells partners include Kansas City’s largest and most influential companies, and Fortune 500 companies nationwide. Cells for Cells is also part of Pepsi’s Eco Challenge. To learn more about getting your company involved with Cells for Cells please visit www.cellsforcells.com