http://www.zoo.org.au/Calling_on_You
Gorillas are on the brink of extinction. They’re calling on YOU to donate your phone today!
By donating your phone through the They’re Calling on You mobile phone recycling program you are:
-
Diverting your phone from landfill. Your phone will be refurbished and resold in disadvantaged communites
-
Helping Melbourne Zoo raise money to support the Jane Goodall Institutes primate conservation work in Africa
-
Lessening the demand for coltan mining in the Demorcatic Republic of Congo
To support the They’re Calling on You mobile phone recycling program you can:
- Visit Melbourne Zoo to collect a postage paid recycling satchel or Download and print a copy of our postage paid label and post your phone today!
- Donate a corporate fleet of mobile phones for free by following these four easy steps begining with the registration form
- Schools can get involved too! Please contact Mark Langdon at Melbourne Zoo by email or phone (03) 9285 9465 to discuss integrating this program to your curriculum whilst inspiring students to take action for wildlife.
Coltan is a metallic ore that is mined both in and out of Africa and can be found within many electronic devices such as mobile phones. The mining of coltan within the Congo River Basin is contributing to forest loss and unrest in the region, and is accelerating the loss of mountain gorillas at an alarmingly fast rate.
Whilst efforts are being made to tackle this issue, the majority of the worlds known coltan reserves are found within Africa, and the mining of coltan within gorilla habitat continues. It is very difficult to know which phones contain coltan mined from Africa, however every phone can help save gorilla’s when donated to They’re Calling on You.
| For further information please contact: Rachel Lowry Community Conservation Manager Zoos Victoria Ph: (03) 9285 9377 Mob: 0448 504 490Fax: (03) 9285 9340 email rlowry@zoo.org.au |
 |
Next time your mobile phone rings, let that be a reminder that ‘they’re calling on you’!
Did you know?
More than 800 million people around the world currently use mobile phones and that figure is growing daily!
In Australia alone, it is estimated that there were 9 million new mobile phones sold in the last 12 months.
Australians typically upgrade their phones every 18-24 months! This exerts enormous pressure on the mining of resources such as coltan needed to manufacture new phones.
80% of the world’s coltan reserves are located within the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As the forest is denuded for mining, the protection once offered by the habitat in it’s pristine state is now no longer able to shelter gorillas and a range of other species from the bush meat crisis.
In Kahuzi Biega National Park, more than fifty percent of the mountain gorilla population has been lost, leaving the species on the brink of extinction.
You can make a difference simply by donating your old mobile phone!