Why mobile phones?
Mobile phones contain all sorts of things that can be recycled, including the metal tantalum, which is produced from the columbite-tantalite (“coltan”) ore mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Although tantalum (made from coltan) and the metal tin can be found in many electronic devices (such as laptops, gps, camera etc as well) it is the mobile phones that people tend to change most frequently. This unfortunately means that the demand on coltan and tin mines and consequently, people and animals are huge. However, by recycling your mobile phone you can:
- reduced the demand on the metals as many of them can be retrieved and recycled from the devices
- save the environment as not only metals but other elements, such as the plastic and glass can be recycled from your mobile phone
- help raise money for our work in Africa
Find out more about mining coltan and its impact in the Democratic Republic of Congo »
