For Immediate Release: April 24, 2003 Contact: Marianne Maw - Sierra Club (415) 977-5761 Owen Davis - Staples (508) 253-8468 SIERRA CLUB & STAPLES TEAM UP TO RECYCLE MOBILE ELECTRONICS New Program With CollectiveGood Makes Recycling Used Cell Phones, PDAs and Pagers Easy & Convenient San Francisco, CA - Starting this weekend you will no longer have to wonder how to dispose of your old cell phone, PDA or pager. On Sunday, April 27, the Sierra Club, Staples and CollectiveGood, a socially responsible mobile electronics recycling company, are teaming up to unveil a new program that makes it easy for consumers to recycle their used cell phones, PDAs and, pagers. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 250-300 million used cell phones, and many millions of other used mobile devices that should be recycled rather than disposed of in landfills. Recycling mobile electronics prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cadmium and lead from contaminating the earth through incineration and landfill disposal. The new program makes recycling easy: simply drop off used cell phones, PDAs and pagers, as well as chargers, in collection tubes conveniently located near the cell phone display in every Staples store. CollectiveGood will refurbish the collected devices for reuse, or recycle them according to federal and local environmental standards. In addition to keeping toxic wastes out of America's landfills, Staples will give a portion of the proceeds from qualified mobile electronics to the Sierra Club. The donation will be used to support environmental education and conservation programs. "This program gives people the opportunity to do something good for the environment just by making a trip to their local Staples. And with their broad market reach, Staples will be connecting with a wide variety of consumers beyond those already involved in environmental causes." says Johanna O'Kelley, Director of the Sierra Club's licensing program. Seth Heine, President of CollectiveGood, agrees, "This is the most comprehensive initiative of its kind and is also the most consumer friendly." Mark Buckley, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at Staples says, "Our new recycling programs, the latest initiatives in our overall environmental commitment, address the great need to reduce the amount of electronics going into landfills. We're pleased to work with CollectiveGood and the Sierra Club toward this goal. About the Sierra Club The Sierra Club's members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Sierra Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. For more information about the Sierra Club go to www.sierraclub.org About Staples Staples, Inc. is an $11.6 billion retailer of office supplies, business services, furniture and technology to consumers and businesses from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Headquartered outside Boston, Staples invented the office superstore concept and today is the largest operator of office superstores in the world. The company has 58,000 associates serving customers in approximately 1,500 office superstores, mail order catalogs, e-commerce and a contract business. More information about the company is available at www.staples.com. About CollectiveGood CollectiveGood is the nation's premier mobile phone recycling company, seeking to convert millions of idle, yet functional mobile phones back into reuse, typically in the developing world. CollectiveGood refurbishes and recycles mobile phones in an environmentally friendly manner, and generates substantial funds for charities in the process. For more information, visit www.collectivegood.com, or call 770-856-9021. ### Erin E. Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] www.iowa.sierraclub.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]