The decision to create sustainable concepts within schools is certainly on the increase and there are ways to become sustainable that are practical, simple and achievable. One of the simplest and easiest ways is through a mobile phone recycling campaign, such as Fones4Schools, which is not only beneficial to the environment but to the bank balance of your school!

Over 17 million mobile phone handsets are upgraded every year and what we do with these redundant mobiles has consequences for our environment. Mobile phones contain toxic substances which can leak into the soil that surrounds landfill sites. This not only pollutes groundwater, but is also harmful to plant and animal life.

Environmental damage, also, occurs on the top of landfill sites as carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases, are released into the atmosphere as the waste decomposes. This contributes to the problem of climate change and, although carbon dioxide is historically viewed the most negatively, methane gas is actually 26 times more harmful to the environment.

Fones4Schools plays a vital role in diverting mobile phones from landfill with over 60,000 kg of waste being reused or recycled in the past 2 years.

The forthcoming WEEE directive is aimed at encouraging reuse and recycling, and minimising the negative environmental aspects of disposal. WEEE refers to the collection, management and safe disposal of electrical and electronic equipment, and is suggesting major changes in the way electronic waste, such as mobile phones, is classified and handled.

Fones4Schools comply with all the requirements outlined for the WEEE Directive, which goes live in the UK on 1st July 2007, making the campaign the ideal way for schools to become more sustainable and comply with the new legislation. There are no obligations on schools or individuals, no legal requirements, just the recommendation that they find recycling outlets for electronic equipment where possible.

Mobile phone recycling campaigns, such as Fones4Schools, have substantial benefits to the environment and the financial resources of a school. However the campaign, also, has a strong emphasis on enterprise and citizenship.

Promoting Global Citizenship in Schools
By 2020 the Government would like all schools to be models of good global citizenship and enhance their educational mission with activities that improve the lives of people living in other parts of the world. The mobile phones that are collected through the Fones4Schools campaign are either recycled here in the UK, or sold for reuse around the world.  There is a strong demand for affordable mobile phones in developing countries, where land line connections are poor or non existent.  Affordable mobile phones provide a vital means of communication for these countries that they would not ordinarily have.

In short, mobile phone recycling offers a way for schools to benefit financially from becoming sustainable. Certainly, the environment benefits, and there are many educational gains to a campaign such as Fones4Schools. Most importantly it’s an easy, simple way for schools to promote sustainability.

There are over 90 million redundant mobile phones in the UK alone, and the potential damage to the environment, through landfill, is overwhelming. The solution though is quite simple – get your school involved in recycling!

For more information you can visit the Fones 4 Schools website www.fones4schools.co.uk or email enquiries@fones4schools.co.uk.