Baskets are to be placed in Telstra, Vodafone and Optus shops for Australians to dispose of their old mobile phones. These will then be melted down and turned into new products like furniture. Small amounts of gold can also be retrieved from the recycled phones.
According to Planet Arks’ founder, John Dee, an estimated 10 million unused mobile phones are left just lying around homes and offices.
People have hoarded mobile phones in their homes and offices for years, he said to the Australian Associated Press.
The reason is because they’ve spent a lot of money on their mobiles and they don’t want to throw them away, even though they’ve totally lost their value, Mr Dee said.
