In celebration of Earth Day 2007, which will take place on Sunday, April 22nd, CTIA-The Wireless Association® and its member companies remind consumers to recycle their retired wireless devices.

“Maintaining a successful, consumer friendly recycling program continues to be a priority of the wireless industry,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association®. “Many Americans diligently recycle glass, paper, and plastic products as part of their weekly routine. Along with these items, it’s important to remember the newest recyclable on the block…old wireless phones and accessories.”

The wireless industry began its nationwide recycling campaign called “Wireless…The New Recyclable,” in 2003. The public outreach and awareness campaign provides wireless consumers with information about the importance and ease of recycling wireless devices. The centerpiece of the campaign is an in-store phone take-back program that allows consumers to bring their used wireless devices to carrier retail outlets for recycling purposes. You can learn more about this program by visiting http://www.recyclewirelessphones.com/.

“Thousands of drop-off locations, including every major wireless carrier retail store, collect all makes and models of wireless phones, accessories and chargers, making it easy for consumers across the country to participate in wireless recycling,” continued Largent. “But before you drop off your phone, it’s important to remember to protect your personal security by erasing the phone’s memory of contacts and other stored information.”

Recycle your retired device worry-free by utilizing the Cell Phone Data Eraser. This useful tool walks you through a step-by-step process to remove personal information, such as contact names and phone numbers, from your old phone. Check out the Cell Phone Data Eraser by visiting http://wirelessrecycling.com/home/data_eraser/.

In recent years, the wireless recycling movement has expanded beyond carrier retail stores and can now be seen in many well-known businesses and on the Internet. Major retailers such as The Body Shop and Home Depot, as well as the Internet marketplace eBay have all established wireless recycling campaigns.

“Instead of stashing or trashing used wireless products, we can all do our part in helping the environment on Earth Day 2007 by dropping them off at the nearest wireless carrier store to be recycled,” said Largent.

Source: CTIA