Spring Cleaning? Check Wireless Phone Recycling Off Your List

BEDMINSTER, N.J., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- As flowers bloom and the snow melts, consumers gear up for the yearly spring cleaning ritual. With every project, it is important to have a checklist, and HopeLine, Verizon Wireless' corporate philanthropy program, offers consumers reasons to place wireless phone recycling at the top of their list this year.

Your Old Wireless Phones Are Collecting Dust -- Wireless phones are one of the hottest accessories for consumers today -- there are currently more than 206 million wireless phone subscribers in the United States. With trends changing by the minute, the "must have" cell phone changes almost every day and old wireless phones often get replaced by newer models.

Help The Environment -- Rid yourself of some clutter by gathering up any old wireless phones collecting dust in junk drawers and closets and look for ways to put them to good use and keep them out of landfills. HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones from any service provider and then refurbishes or recycles them in an environmentally safe way. Through HopeLine's recycling efforts, more than 200 tons of electronics waste and batteries have been kept out of landfills.

Give Back To The Community -- In addition to helping to protect the environment, donating wireless phones can provide a lifeline to people in need. The phones and accessories HopeLine collects ultimately benefit domestic violence survivors across the country. Verizon Wireless provides phones to victims complete with airtime minutes and other features such as voicemail that can play an important role as survivors rebuild their lives, or donates the money from the sale of the phones to fund non-profit agencies.

Include the Batteries Too -- Verizon Wireless also collects spent rechargeable batteries for recycling. The Verizon Wireless Cell Phone Battery Recycling program is an easy way for customers to join with Verizon Wireless to help conserve the earth's natural resources and prevent spent batteries from entering community landfills. In 2005, nearly 150,000 pounds of batteries were recycled through the HopeLine and Charge Up to Recycle! programs.

Verizon Wireless is a recognized corporate leader for its commitment to preventing domestic violence and raising awareness of the issue. Since 2001, consumers have donated more than 2.5 million phones to HopeLine and more than 500,000 phones have been recycled. Verizon Wireless has distributed nearly $2 million in HopeLine cash grants to local domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country. For more information on Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program or for instructions on donating a wireless phone, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com/. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.