Geography 30, Spring 2008, Penn State University
"Geographic Perspectives on Sustainability and Human-Environment Systems," students participated in a short, action-based assignment on cell phone waste. This assignment was composed of three parts:
Collecting background information: Students read about Eco-Cell and its cell phone recycling program, they watched this video about the mining of cell phone materials, and they found out more about the Basel Action Network (BAN).
Collecting cell phones: Students were challenged to collect at least 8 discarded cell phones a piece from friends, family, coworkers, or wherever they could get their hands on them!
Choosing a charity organization: Since Eco-Cell pays up to $15 per cell phone, the class ended up with over $1000.00 to donate to a charity of their choice! Students voted to send the money to an organization that helping some of the people we saw in the movie Darwin's Nightmare. We decided on an organization called DEFESCO (Development of Free Educational Services Centers for Orphans), which provides orphans with the opportunity to attend secondary school and receive extracarricular assistance and tutoring.
STUDENTS COLLECTED OVER 800 CELL PHONES, PLUS CHARGERS, BATTERIES AND OTHER ACCESSORIES AND EQUIPMENT!