Launceston recognised as State's top mobile phone recycler
Published on 30 June 2022
Launceston residents are the State's top mobile phone recyclers, with a whopping 204 kilograms worth of old mobile phones recycled through the City of Launceston's Town Hall Recycling Hub in the twelve months to April.
The feat has seen the City of Launceston recognised as Tasmania's top local government recycler by MobileMuster for the third year in a row.
MobileMuster is an Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association product stewardship program, aimed at reducing the industry's environmental footprint through community education on repair, reuse and recycling Across Australia, more than 5.7 tonnes of mobile phones were collected for recycling between March 2021 and April 2022.
Each year, MobileMuster recognises the top collectors in each state or territory at the Australian Local Government Association's National General Assembly, which is held in June in Canberra.
According to MobileMuster, the nation's top mobile phone recyclers over the past 12 months were:
New South Wales – Hornsby Shire Council (Weight collected 670kgs)
Western Australia – City of Stirling (Weight collected 452kgs)
Victoria – City of Monash (Weight collected 263kgs)
Tasmania – City of Launceston (Weight collected 204kgs)
Queensland – Brisbane City Council (Weight collected 203kgs)
South Australia – City of Onkaparinga (Weight collected 87kgs)
Northern Territory – East Arnhem Shire Council (Weight collected 26kgs)
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the Recycling Hub had proven popular with residents since its installation in 2019.
"The Recycling Hub caters to recycling streams that aren't available through Launceston's kerbside recycling collection service," Mayor van Zetten said.
"It's a free service which allows people to bring in recyclable items like batteries, eyeglasses, plastic bread tags, toothbrushes and even CDs and DVDs for recycling.
"It's proven to be a convenient option for people who want to drop off some recycling before going to work or going shopping."
The City of Launceston's Sustainability Team Leader Michael Attard said mobile phones contained a number of component materials which could be recycled — including gold, zinc and copper.
"It's been a bit of fun to see all the different models of mobile phones that have been collected and to see how far technology has come in just a few short years," Mr Attard said.
"We see all kinds of phones being dropped off here, from the giant bricks of the late 1990s, to the flip phones of the early 2000s through to the very first smartphones.
"This latest recognition is a great reminder to people to bring that old phone or tablet either to the Recycling Hub here at the Town Hall or the Recycling facility at the Launceston Waste Centre, where it can be recycled responsibly."