Posts Tagged ‘Cell Phones’

The Toxicity of Cell Phones

Sunday, May 31st, 2009
  • The circuit boards in cell phones contain myriad toxins such as arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc.
  • Brominated flame retardants are found in the plastic housing, printed wiring board, and cables.
  • The lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries contain heavy metals such as cobalt, zinc, and copper.
  • Many of these chemicals are Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) and have the potential to be released into the air and groundwater when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills, thus creating unnecessary threats to human health and the environment.
  • Preliminary testing by the Department of Toxic Substances Control has shown that cell phones are likely to be determined hazardous at end-of-life and will require management under Universal Waste regulations.
  • Universal Wastes must be recycled or managed as hazardous waste. Disposal at an unauthorized site or landfill is a serious crime as well as a serious environmental threat.
  • Additional research by Dr. Timothy Townsend of the University of Florida for the US EPA has also found cell phones to leach hazardous levels of lead when disposed in landfill conditions.

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Posted in Recycling Information | 5 Comments »

Open Call for Recycling Blog Contributors

Friday, January 25th, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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Posted in General Recycling | 7 Comments »

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