Turning the tide on waste this summer.

This year at MobileMuster we have teamed up with not-for-profit organisation, Take 3 for the Sea to support them in reducing plastic pollution in our oceans, along with giving Australians an added reason to recycle that old broken mobile phone.

The partnership looks to tackle two of the biggest waste issues facing Australia – electronic waste (e-waste) and plastic pollution by educating people on how they can make a difference to prevent and reduce their personal waste at home.

With an estimated 23 million old mobile phones stored in drawers across the country (i) and an estimated 8 million metric tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year (ii), there is a need to address this problem alongside plastic waste.

Independent Research conducted by MobileMuster indicates that Australians have good intentions when it comes to recycling, with almost half stating that they intend to recycle their old mobile phones, but keeping it as a back up or data management concerns stops them from taking action.

MobileMuster is committed to educating Australians on how to manage their data so old mobiles can be passed on for reuse or recycled when they are no longer needed. In October this year the program produced two how to videos to help iOS and Android back up, transfer or delete data off their old device. These can be found on the MobileMuster website.

The partnership with Take 3 for the Sea is calling on Australians to take three minutes at home to dig out their old mobile phones and recycle them to help support Take 3 for the Sea in the work it does to help reduce plastic from entering the ocean in Australia.

We've set ourselves a target to collect at least 30,000 mobile phones for recycling over January and February 2019, which in turn will support Take 3 for the Sea remove up to 100,000 pieces of plastics from our oceans and waterways. The new year is the perfect time to de-clutter our homes, save precious resources by recycling mobiles and clean up the environment. By taking 3 pieces of plastic from beaches and taking 3 minutes to dig out old phones for recycling, you can make a positive impact on the environment.

Organisations like Take 3 for the Sea are fundamental in helping prevent plastic pollution and associated threats to marine life. Failing to take action now could see more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050 (iii). Plastic pollution is a growing global problem threatening wildlife and the health of our ocean ecosystems. Reducing plastic pollution starts with avoiding single use plastics and increasing recycling.

Getting involved is easy, Australians can either recycle their old mobiles at over 3,500 MobileMuster drop off points across the country or post them back, along with any accessories and chargers, by picking up a satchel at AusPost for free.

Everything collected by MobileMuster is recycled for the circular economy. Through our recycling process 99% of the material from mobiles and accessories is recovered and used in manufacturing new products, reducing the need for virgin materials. You can find more information on our summer campaign by visiting mobilemuster.com.au

References:

(i) IPSOS (February 2018), Consumer insights into mobile phone use and recycling . Based on a used sample size of 1001 people Australia-wide.

(ii) World Economic Forum (2016), The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics.

(iii) World Economic Forum (2016), The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics.