Become environmentally responsible - help us recycle!

• Up to eightmillion obsolete mobile phones expected to be discarded in the Czech Republic by the end of 2007
• T-Mobile wants to raise people's interest in recycling unused handsets
• Customers will receive a CZK200 discount voucher for each phone they return 

Prague, 7 November 2007 - Czechs are not keen recyclers of electronic equipment, including old mobile phones, even though laws establishing regulations for electronic-waste management have been in force in the Czech Republic since June 2005 (Act No. 185/2001 Coll. on Waste Disposal). Customers brought only 372 disused handsets into T-Mobile shops in 2005, 683 in 2006, and scarcely a thousand this year. However, according to estimates 1.3 million mobile phones have been discarded in the Czech Republic in the past year alone, and the total number of old and unused handsets lying around in drawers could reach five to eight million by the end of 2007.

"Even though numerous well-meaning campaigns promoting environmentally friendly behavior have begun to appear lately, Czech people are not yet thinking green enough," says Martina Kemrová, spokesperson for T‑Mobile, adding: "Few people realize that when keeping old handsets and batteries after they have been taken out of service, such equipment can significantly damage the environment. Moreover, electronic devices contain a huge amount of raw materials that could be recycled and reused for other purposes."   

Having been the first operator in the Czech Republic to start collecting mobile phones from customers for recycling even before the new act on waste disposal took effect, T-Mobile has now initiated a follow-up step. It is currently launching a campaign for intensifying handset collection. This campaign is based on offering customers vouchers for each obsolete mobile phone that is returned at T-Mobile shops by 31 January 2008. The value of the voucher, called Recyklístek (recycling voucher), is CZK 200 incl. VAT and it can be used when purchasing a new handset, Twist set or accessories at T-Mobile shops.

Foreign experts confirm that reusing various components and materials from unused mobile phones is extremely beneficial. Mobile phones contain significant amounts of valuable metals that can be easily recycled and reused for manufacturing new equipment. Conversely, it is precisely due to these metals that the inappropriate disposal of mobile phones poses a risk to human health and creates a serious environmental burden.

"Just to give you an idea of the situation, the estimated five million mobile phones that are not used anymore by Czech customers could provide, after recycling, 120 kg of gold, 45 kg of palladium, 1,250 kg of silver and 45,000 kg of copper, while batteries would yield 19,000 kg of cobalt," says David Beneš of the REMA collection system that manages mobile-phone recycling. For example, a full 15% of the world's production of cobalt is used for batteries. And the production of mobile phones uses about 3% of the world's production of gold and silver and an unbelievable 12% of the world's production of palladium. Or let's consider this: recycling copper from unused electronic devices requires 87% less electricity compared to producing it from mined copper ore. "Czechs seem to have a unique personal attitude to their unused mobile phones. While the recycling of other electronic devices has been slowly but steadily set in motion, only a few people properly dispose of their old mobile phones," says Beneš.

"Our campaign supporting the recycling of old mobile phones is entirely in accordance with T-Mobile's long-term emphasis on corporate social responsibility," says Martina Kemrová, adding: "The hitherto feeble results of our free handset collection efforts caused us to reconsider how to better motivate our customers to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. We believe that our recycling vouchers will prove successful, help change the current unsatisfactory situation and encourage people to regularly return their unused handsets."

Several recycling vouchers can be used at the same time (up to five vouchers per person) and they can be combined with currently offered sales and discounts. The vouchers can only be used when purchasing new equipment and accessories; they cannot be used for the purpose of paying Statements of Services, topping up credit on Twist cards, etc. When returning an old mobile phone to a T-Mobile shop, customers will need to fill in a simple form and prove their identity with an ID card or another valid form of identification. If there is a suspicion that a handset might have been stolen, the returned item will be checked against the database of stolen mobile phones.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.