February 15, 2012
The following is being distributed at the request of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board:
Newfoundland and Labrador Top Performing Province in National Recycle My Cell School Challenge
For the second year in a row, schools in Newfoundland and Labrador led the country in the national Recycle My Cell School Challenge, with Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Corner Brook taking top honours both provincially and nationally. The Recycle My Cell Challenge was launched in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) this past October as part of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board’s (MMSB) Waste Reduction Week campaign.
“I would like to congratulate the 55 schools and nine post-secondary institutions that helped make this year’s Recycle My Cell School Challenge such a tremendous success in our province,” said the Honourable Terry French, Minister Responsible for the MMSB. “The youth of our province have become the environmental conscience for so many families in Newfoundland and Labrador, so it’s certainly not surprising to see such a fantastic response to the challenge – with over 3,900 cell phones being collected provincially.”
Approximately 96 per cent of the materials in an average cell phone are recyclable, but only seven per cent are currently recycled. The cell phones collected as part of this challenge will be dismantled and the materials will be used to produce new mobile devices and a variety of other items.
“School children throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are the leaders in helping us all to reduce waste and recycle,” said Leigh Puddester, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, MMSB. “We are so very proud to see them lead the country in this effort to recycle old cell phones and help keep this toxic waste out of our landfills. We commend our regional winners, A.P. Low Primary in Labrador City, Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Corner Brook, Long Island Academy in Beaumont and Virginia Park Elementary in St. John’s for keeping these cell phones from entering our province’s landfills.”
The challenge was open to all K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions in the province. The CWTA offered national prizes of a Samsung Reclaim phone with a one-year plan, compliments of Bell Mobility, plus $500 for first place rankings. In addition, the MMSB offered the top-performing schools from the four regions of the province a $1,000 cash prize to support their school’s environmental initiatives.
"On behalf of Canada's national cell phone recycling program, I congratulate the young people of Newfoundland and Labrador once again for their outstanding environmental leadership," said Bernard Lord, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). "To be the top performing province in the Recycle My Cell School Challenge for the second year in a row is really something to celebrate.”
Elaine King, Director of Education of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, said that she is very proud of the students, teachers, and parents for making this challenge an overwhelming success for the second consecutive year.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in great programs that not only raise our students’ awareness of environmental issues but also give them solutions to help take action to protect the environment.”
Recycle My Cell is Canada’s national recycling program for mobile phones and accessories. The free program is run by the CWTA, in conjunction with cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers, who have come together to raise awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling. The goal of this program is to keep mobile devices from entering Canada’s landfills. For more information about 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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Media contacts:
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Melony O’Neill Director of Communications Environment and Conservation 709-729-2575, 689-0928 moneill@gov.nl.ca |
Cara Pike Director of Communications MMSB 709-757-3696, 689-4795 cpike@mmsb.nl.ca |
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Marc Choma Director of Communications CWTA 613-233-4888 ext. 207 mchoma@cwta.ca |
Elaine King Director of Education Immaculate Heart of Mary School 709-634-1700 elainekingihmschool@yahoo.ca |
2012 02 15 11:15 a.m.