Do you have old cell phones lying around the house?
Do you know what to do with them?
Recycle them at Allied Arts - profits benefit our community programming!!
Allied Arts of Yakima Valley has partnered with GRC Wireless Recycling, an industry leader in the management of wireless waste, to collect old cell phones -- in any condition -- as a fundraiser supporting arts and cultural activities in the Yakima Valley. Current cell phone recycling centers (and our partners!) include:
- The Chamber of Commerce
- YMCA
- Harman Center
- For a Better Tomorrow
- 901 Pasta
- Wray's on 56th
- Yakima Valley Public Libraries
- Downtown
- Summitview
- Southeast
- Sunnyside
- Toppenish
- Union Gap
- Selah
- And of course, Allied Arts Center
Each phone, whether it is usable or not, will be collected for use in two ways. Refurbished phones will be resold in Latin America and other developing regions. Phones in poor condition will be sold to smelters that recover the metals on the circuit boards.
Allied Arts can collect between $0.50 and $30 per phone! There are currently eight recycling sites city-wide. Clean out your drawers and bring in your phones today!
Cell Phones & the Environment
The improper disposal of cellular phones seriously impacts the environment.
According to Inform Inc., cell phones contain toxic substances including Arsenic, Antimony, Beryllium, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc. The Cadmium from a single phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water (or the equivalent of 1.2 million 16-ounce coffees.) These toxic substances either leach into soil and groundwater from landfills or form highly toxic dioxins and furans during incineration. The toxins are associated with certain types of cancer and a range of reproductive, neurological and developmental disorders, especially in children.