Waste Reduction Week Announces 2010 Sponsor

Recycle My Cell Joins the Call to Action

TORONTO, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - Today, Waste Reduction Week in Canada welcomed Recycle My Cell (www.RecycleMyCell.ca) as the official national sponsor of Waste Reduction Week 2010 (October 18-24). Recycle My Cell is a national industry initiative led by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), along with cell phone manufacturers and service providers, to raise awareness about mobile device recycling. The goal of this free program is to keep handsets from entering Canada's landfills. And just as important, the proceeds from the recycled devices contribute to some great charities at the same time.

"Recycle My Cell and Waste Reduction Week make a great team," said Jo-Anne St. Godard, Chair of Waste Reduction Week in Canada. "We share similar values and are both working towards reducing waste for a more sustainable Canada. We are going to do some wonderful things together."  

As the national sponsor, Recycle My Cell is lending support to Waste Reduction Week 2010's two key initiatives - the "Ease My Load" Campaign and the "Recycle My Cell Challenge."

Running from October 1 to November 15, 2010, "Ease My Load" will be a call to action for Canadians to reduce the amount of waste they produce. Participants will download a cut-out of Waste Reduction Week's mascot, "Atlas", and submit short videos or digital pictures of how they involve Atlas in their 3Rs activities. Waste Reduction Week will share submissions through its Youtube channel. More information can be found at www.wrwcanada.com.

On October 18, 2010, Waste Reduction Week in Canada will launch the Recycle My Cell Challenge, a contest for high schools and post-secondary institutions, where students can easily recycle their old wireless devices and accessories. Recycle My Cell will provide everything needed to easily set up a Recycle My Cell collection site for old and out-of-use cell phones, smartphones, wireless PDAs, accessories, pagers and cell phone batteries. Upon closing of the challenge on November 30, 2010, participating schools will be able to submit their collected phones for recycling. Participants will be showcased on our Web site, our social media pages and in local media. Schools will also have everything they need to continue their Recycle My Cell activities all year long. Recycle My Cell Challenge details will be available from the Waste Reduction Week and partner Web sites on October 4, 2010.

"Recycle My Cell is extremely proud to partner with this year's Waste Reduction Week," said CWTA President & CEO Bernard Lord. "Combining the strengths of these two national initiatives will definitely help inspire Canadians to reduce their ecological footprint."

About Waste Reduction Week in Canada - wrwcanada.com
Waste Reduction Week (WRW) in Canada was developed in 2001 by a coalition of 13 recycling councils and sister organizations from across Canada and is delivered each October by the same group. The program's goal is to inform Canadians about the environmental and social ramifications of wasteful practices. WRW uses its "take action" messaging to empower all Canadians to adopt more environmentally-conscious choices. Waste Reduction Week provides Canadians with information and ideas to reduce waste in all facets of daily living, creating solutions to the many environmental challenges we face.

About Recycle My Cell
Recycle My Cell is Canada's national recycling program for mobile phones and accessories. The bilingual Web site - www.RecycleMyCell.ca and www.recyclemoncell.ca - allows consumers to simply enter their postal code to locate the 10 drop-off locations closest to them where their devices will be accepted, regardless of brand or condition. The free program is run by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), in conjunction with cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers, who have come together to raise awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling.

For further information:

Christopher Hilkene, Communications Director, Waste Reduction Week in Canada, 416-425-1313, [email protected].

Marc Choma, Director of Communications, CWTA, 613-233-4888 ext. 207, [email protected].