We have teamed up with Redeem plc to launch a recycling campaign to collect unwanted mobile telephones and used inkjet cartridges to help raise important funds to support our work.

The scheme couldn’t be simpler, just put your unwanted mobile phone or inkjet cartridge into a freepost envelope and pop it in the post or drop them off at Lower House Farm where we have a collection box in our reception area. For every handset or cartridge received, up to £5 is donated to the Trust.

It is estimated today that there is somewhere in the region of 60 to 90 million unwanted handsets sitting in drawers and offices in the UK. With millions more new handsets being pumped into an already saturated market place each year this mountain just continues to grow. 

Many developing countries have extremely limited access to landline communication systems and mobile technology has revolutionised communications. However, handset prices are not subsidised in these areas and the cost of a brand new handset is prohibitive to most of the population. Old and unwanted used handsets from the UK can provide an affordable solution to this problem all over the developing world.

Inkjet cartridges are consumed by offices and individuals at an alarming rate, an amazing 375 million were dumped in our landfill sites last year alone. It is estimated that each cartridge will take around 1000 years to decompose. Most inkjet cartridges can be cleaned and refilled and reused, thus diverting waste from landfill and providing a lower cost product for the printing market.

Recycling with Redeem Plc guarantees that even items that cannot be reused or resold will not end up in landfill. Mobile phones and their batteries contain elements such as mercury, cadmium, nickel and gallium arsenide that if not disposed of carefully, can be extremely harmful to the environment. Anything that cannot be reused or refurbished is recycled either to extract reusable elements such as copper or to be used as the raw material for anything from road sleepers to frisbee’s.

If you would like a freepost envelope or would like a collection box for your workplace you can easily request them from Redeem Plc’s Recycling Appeal scheme freephone number 08451 30 20 10 or by visiting Herefordshire Nature Trust’s page.

We also except toner cartridges but because of their size they will need to be brought into the Trust.