What You Can Do As we continue to advance our phone technology, cell phone users rapidly replace their old models with newer ones. But, what do you do with your old phone? Recycle it with Project Saving Species. Enter Go Bananas! Challenge Collect the most cell phones and WIN $5,000! Why recycle cell phones? Cell phones also contain an ore called Coltan, which is mined in endangered gorilla habitat in Africa. Loss of habitat and hunting are serious threats to the gorillas future. Reducing the demand for Coltan will help save these animals and their habitat. more info Cell phones contain lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, all are considered hazardous waste if sent to landfills where they can leach into the soil and groundwater. There are more than 270 million cellular users in the United States alone and 4.1 billion worldwide. On average, a person in the United States buys a new cell phone every 18 months. Less than 1% of the millions of cell phones retired and discarded annually are recycled. All unusable cell phones are recycled under strict EPA guidelines by certified recyclers. Project Saving Species – Help Us Raise the Bar In 2011 we collected more than 19,000 phones In 2012 the total was 11, 010 In 2013 – 16,612 In 2014 – 15,699 devices In 2015 – 10,000+ In 2016- 7,967 In 2017 – 6,129 In 2018 – 6,786 In 2019 – 4,266 Help us raise the bar! Contact us to get started.