Most people have one or more redundant mobile phones lying around in drawers or cupboards at home. Why is this? Old mobiles are often thought to be worthless and many don’t know how best to dispose of their phones safely, so they just put them away and forget about them. This does not have to happen, because there are plenty of mobile phone recycling companies who make it simple to sell your mobile for cash.
However, Enfield Council in London has come up with a novel way of recycling mobile phones that is both environmentally and socially sustainable. The Council is urging local residents to recycle their mobiles and help reduce domestic violence.
The idea behind their “fonesforsafetyproject” is to recycle old mobiles into “emergency only 999” phones for domstic violence victims, effectively turning the phones into personal alarms. Enfield is encouraging users to drop off their old mobiles at any of the local libraries with the message that recycling mobiles into emergency only phones could be life saving.
The project is the result of a partnership between the Council’s Community Safety and Environment Units, the Metropolitan Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Project and CRISP, the recycling charity.