Mobile Phones
RECYCLING MOBILE PHONES HELPS THE GORILLAS!
Our small, practical, multi-function mobile phones need powerful electronic components. These contain tantalum, an element that is extracted from Coltan ore. One of the places that Coltan is mined is in eastern Congo, in the middle of the habitat of the eastern lowland gorillas. The increasing demand for mobile phones has a direct link to the threats faced by the gorillas.
Most people have no idea that they are having a negative impact on gorillas when they buy one new mobile phone model after another. Service providers try to convince customer to do this: when you sign a contract, you are given a new mobile phone for free. However, many of these freebees are not even used – they are relegated to the kitchen drawer or the bedside table. This is a real shame, as mobile phones can be recycled! Please find out, where you can hand in your old mobile phones. For example, many zoos collect them and support gorilla conservation projects with the money they obtain for used mobile phones.