Environment and Conservation
February 2, 2011

Newfoundland and Labrador Schools Dominate
National Recycle My Cell Challenge

Schools in Newfoundland and Labrador out-performed schools across the country during a national Recycle My Cell School Challenge, with Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Corner Brook taking top honours and another Corner Brook school, St. Gerard’s Elementary, placing second. The Recycle My Cell School Challenge was launched at Mount Pearl Senior High this past October as part of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board’s (MMSB) Waste Reduction Week campaign.

“I extend sincere congratulations to the 52 schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador that participated in the Recycle My Cell School Challenge,” said the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Environment and Conservation. “More than 3,300 cellphones were collected for recycling by schools in this province, representing almost 90 per cent of the national total. We are so very proud to have dominated this effort to recycle old cell phones and help keep waste out of our landfills.”

The MMSB, in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), sponsored the Recycle My Cell School Challenge, which was open to all K-12 schools in the province and ran from October 20 to November 30. The challenge was to collect as many cellphones as possible, calculated as a percentage of phones per student per school. The CWTA offered national prizes of a Samsung Reclaim phone with a one-year complimentary plan, compliments of Bell Mobility, plus $500 for both first and second place rankings.

The MMSB boosted the incentive for schools in Newfoundland and Labrador by offering four $1,000 cash prizes to reward top-performing schools in each of the four regions of the province.

“I’d like to thank and congratulate Mealy Mountain Collegiate in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Corner Brook, Long Island Academy in Beaumont and St. Anne’s School in South East Bight, and let them know that their $1,000 cheques are in the mail,” said Leigh Puddester, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MMSB. “The prize money will be used toward school initiatives with an environmental focus.”

“The youth of our province are already environmental champions, so it’s certainly not surprising to see such a fantastic response,” said Minister Wiseman. “The schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador play a very big part in helping us reduce and recycle waste. With 96 per cent of the materials in an average cellphone being recyclable, these cellphones will now be dismantled and the materials used to produce new mobile devices and a variety of other items.”

The Recycle My Cell program is run by the CWTA, in conjunction with cellphone carriers and handset manufacturers, who have come together to raise awareness about the importance of cellphone recycling. The goal of this program is to keep handsets from entering Canada’s landfills. The proceeds from the recycled devices contribute to various charities.

For more information on the program, visit www.recyclemycell.ca 

The MMSB is a Crown agency of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. MMSB supports modern waste management practices in the province with a particular focus on waste diversion and recycling in order to ensure a clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

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2010 02 02                                                       1:05 p.m.