Nunavut Arctic College

As part of its support and celebration for Waste Reduction Week in Canada 2011, Recycle My Cell is issuing a challenge to Canadian schools. If your school or post secondary institution is looking for an opportunity to make a difference environmentally, while having a chance to win some great prizes, then this is for you! Sign up for the challenge, and everything you need to participate will be provided to you!

Canadian students from kindergarten to post secondary are challenged to recycle as many old wireless devices and accessories as possible between October 17 and November 17, 2011. In addition to doing a good thing for the environment, students could also win some great prizes: $500 for their school to use for green initiatives, plus a new electronic device that can be awarded by the school to a student who has shown outstanding leadership in environmental protection.

Join the Recycle My Cell Student Challenge - Get Your School Signed Up Today!

The Recycle My Cell Challenge is open to all schools and post secondary institutions across Canada. Everything you need to set up a Recycle My Cell collection site will be provided to you. All you need to do is collect the phones and send them to us for responsible handling! Even the shipping is free!

To Participate in the Recycle My Cell Student Challenge:

1. Register your school on the WRW website. Registration opens on September 26th and is quick and easy. All we need is your contact and shipping information so we know where to send the Recycle My Cell recovery box!
2. On October 17th, simply set up the box in a convenient and easily accessible location at your school. You are now ready to start collecting – so get the word out! Let your school community, friends and family know when and where they can bring their old cell phones, PDAs, pagers, chargers and batteries. The more phones you collect, the better your chances at winning the prizes!
3. At the end of the challenge on November 17th, seal up your box for shipping. Call the courier number on the mailing label to have the box picked up or drop it off at any Canada Post location. Remember that shipping to us is free! All boxes must arrive at the designated processor by December 8th to be eligible for the prizes, so it’s important that you send in your box right away.
4. The winning school in each province and territory will be announced in January.

Some Important Things to Remember:

• All schools are eligible to participate, but must register through the WRW website. Please provide a contact name and the address where we are to send the collection box.
• It’s not a Challenge unless there’s more than one school participating in the province! If you have friends that go to different schools, get them involved in by participating in the Recycle My Cell Student Challenge as well.
• Boxes MUST be sealed and returned by the deadline in order to be included in the Challenge.
• All cell phones, smartphones, wireless PDAs, pagers, batteries, accessories are included – it doesn’t matter how old they are or whether they are damaged.
• The winning school will be determined on the basis of number of phones collected per student (based on the school population).

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

What happens to the mobile devices collected by your school?

Mobile devices that are collected by your school are sent to GREENTEC for processing. Shipments arriving at GREENTEC are sorted, evaluated and tested to assess their functionality.

Phones are first tested to assess their ability to power on. Devices which power on then receive a data wipe to remove any confidential information which may have been left on by the consumer.

Components, including the LCD screen, keypad, battery, antenna and casing, are evaluated. Phones deemed to be in good condition are then inspected for water damage and “call tested” to confirm their functionality. Phones that pass as functional are then sold individually through GREENTEC or in bulk to approved wholesale telecommunications distributors. Depending on each device’s condition, the wholesale distributors may refurbish some handsets before reselling.

Phones that do not power on, or do not pass the functionality evaluation, are separated for material recovery by recycling. Devices are broken down to their base components (metals or plastics), and then sent to approved processors.

How is the memory erased from the phones we collect?

We always ask that people delete their personal information before they recycle their phones, but we know that doesn’t always happen. When the phones are received at GREENTEC, those that are approved for refurbishment and reuse get their memories ‘wiped’. This means that the device is brought back to its original factory settings – using a documented process that is specific to each phone model – which results in all other data being permanently deleted. Phones that are destined for recycling are destroyed so no data can be accessed.

Who runs this program?

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, handset manufacturers and certified processors, who have come together to raise awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling.

The Recycle My Cell Student Challenge was made possible by the generous support of the Recycle My Cell Partners: Bell, Dell Canada Inc., GEEP Inc., GREENTEC, Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co., LG Electronics, Lynx Mobility, Motorola Mobility, MTS, Nokia, Research In Motion, Rogers Communications, Samsung, SaskTel, Sims Recycling Solutions, Sony Ericsson, TBayTel, TELUS, Videotron, Virgin Mobile Canada, and WIND Mobile.

If you have any questions, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it