A phone isn't just for Christmas!

Howard Lake | 12 December 2006 | Newswire

A survey from Vodafone UK today reveals that only a third of the UK public have ever recycled their unused mobile phones even though four in five people know they can be recycled. The survey also showed that 30% of Welsh respondents have one spare mobile phone each – the highest percentage of people with more than one phone in all the areas surveyed. 74% of respondents in Scotland have never recycled their phones and 15% of Londoners have more than four spare mobile phones each [1].
With up to a third of all new phone purchases made in the run-up to Christmas [2] and our thoughts turning to writing our Christmas lists and that fantastic new upgrade, Vodafone UK is encouraging people to think about what they will do with their old handset when their seasonal wishes come true!
The results highlight the need for people to dig out their old mobiles and take them to their local Vodafone UK store to be recycled, raising vital funds for The National Autistic Society to support the estimated 2 million individuals, families and carers affected by autism in the UK today.
1712 mobile phones are purchased every hour in the UK [3] and every year another 15 million phones fall out of use [4]. This survey reveals that 81% of the population say they would raise money for charity by handing in their old mobile phone at a recycling point, and Vodafone UK is making it easy by encouraging people to get motivated and get down to their local store or even return old phones in the bag provided when contract customers get an upgrade!
As celebrity consumer champion, Alice Beer expands: Every handset donated to Vodafone UK stores raises around £7 for The National Autistic Society. Even if half the spare handsets currently in the UK were donated to Vodafone, that would be a lot of money!”
As well as helping charity, recycling your phone will help the environment. Around 11.3 million phones are thrown away per year in the UK, either ending up in landfill, being incinerated or exported as waste [5]. As Stephen Noakes, Chief Marketing Officer at Vodafone UK explains:
With the Stern Report [6] highlighting our ever-increasing need to tackle climate change and Britain’s recycling record the worst in Europe [7], we need to take advantage of the small actions we can to make a difference. By recycling your phone, it will prevent handsets piling-up in landfill and clearly help the environment. [8].”
For more information about Vodafone’s unique partnership with The National Autistic Society, please visit: www.vodafone.co.uk/autism
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For further information
Please contact Lotte Jones on (0) 20 7403 2230 or Lo***@fo*****.uk
Notes to editors
[1] Areas surveyed covered the whole of the UK, and included: Scotland, North East, North West, Yorkshire & Humberside, East Midlands, Wales, Anglia, West Midlands, South West, London, South East, Northern Ireland
[2] Hitwise.co.uk
[3] ScienceMuseum.org
[4] & [5] Forum for the Future, 2005 report entitled: Return to vendor – how second-hand mobile phones increase access to mobile services”
[6] Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change, by economist Sir Nicholas Stern, October 2006
[7] Report released by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Green Alliance, 28 August 2006. Of the EU’s 25 member states, only Greece and Portugal recycle a smaller proportion of their waste than Britain
[8] To find out more information about Vodafone UK handset recycling programmes in developing countries, please visit:
http://www.vodafone.com/article/0,3029,CATEGORY_ID%
253D3040801%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D266221,00.html
•1000 adults aged 16+ were interviewed on the GfK NOP Telebus during the weekend of 13 – 15 October 2006
•Vodafone UK can raise funds for The National Autistic Society through mobile handsets and also mobile accessories from any UK national network
•In March 2004, Vodafone UK entered into a three-year cause partnership” with the NAS. Vodafone’s support will enable the NAS to expand the reach of existing programmes which raise awareness of autism and support people with autism and their carers. After linking up with NAS, Vodafone UK has already recycled more than 210,000 mobile phones to help raise £1.4 million
•The National Autistic Society exists to champion the rights and interests of all people with autism and to ensure that they and their families receive quality services appropriate to their needs. The website includes information about autism and Asperger syndrome, the NAS and its services and activities
•Each mobile donated to Vodafone UK can raise around £7 for The National Autistic Society:
•£7 can help purchase arts and craft materials or specialist play equipment for children with autism at a NAS school or play scheme
•£7 can pay for two anxious callers to receive information and advice from the NAS Autism helpline
•£7 could pay for gardening equipment for one adult with autism to develop skills in
horticulture
•£7 could be used to purchase plants for a sensory garden for an adult residential unit
helping create a home away from home and a stimulating outdoors environment
•£7 could help one teenage with Asperger Syndrome to attend a drama class to help develop their social skills in a safe and secure environment
•£7 could pay the train fare of a volunteer befriender going to visit a family to provide support on a one to one basis
•£7 could enable the NAS to give advice and support to 2 parents through copies of a ‘Parents Guide’ – a practical advice pack for parents and carers of young children with autistic spectrum disorders
•£7 could pay for two copies of a booklet for siblings of an autistic child to help them
understand what autism is and how they can help their brother or sister
•£7 could pay for one hour of respite care from a sessional worker helping to give a family a small break from the day to day routine of caring for an adult or child with ASD
Facts about autism in the UK:
•Autism affects an estimated one in 100 people in the UK
•Boys are four times more likely to develop autism than girls
•People with autism often want to make friends but due to their disability find it difficult
•Forty per cent of all children with autism wait more than three years for a clear diagnosis
•Adults with autism say that finding a suitable job would improve their lives more than anything else
•Vodafone UK was one of the first organisations to join Fonebak, who still undertake all of their mobile recycling. Fonebak work proactively with clients to deliver solutions that support their environmental and corporate responsibility policies
•Vodafone UK can raise funds for The National Autistic Society through mobile handsets and also mobile accessories from any UK national network

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.