Mobile Phone Disposal

Any broken/damaged or old phones that are not repairable should be returned to the IT Accounts Team, located in building AD.LG.19,  Werrington North Campus. Please make sure that the SIM card has been removed and the phone is marked dead or working (if partially working).

All returned mobiles will be placed in the recycle bin for disposal in an environmentally friendly manner.

Reasons to recycle your dead mobile

In Australia, more than 40 per cent, or over eight million people, own a mobile phone and exchange it on average every 18-24 months. This obviously represents a high proportion of waste, yet what is not widely known is those mobile handsets, including batteries and accessories, are recyclable through the Mobile Phone Industry Recycling Program.

Throwing old phones into landfill can cause problems as the cadmium from the batteries can leach into the environment and can be more toxic and long lasting than lead.

Old phones and batteries can also be used to make new products. The items are melted down with 50000 old mobile phones yielding up to 1.5kg gold as well as nickel, copper and plastic.

Mobile Muster

The University of Western Sydney is a member of the Mobile Muster recycling program, which, between 1999 and 2006 collected 402 tonnes of mobile phone handsets, batteries and accessories.

All mobile phones, batteries and accessories collected through Mobile Muster are recycled for material recovery to minimise the impact of mobile phones on the environment (there is no profit made from this and they are not refurbished).

A Mobile Muster collection point is currently situated with IT Accounts in Building AD.LG.19 Werrington North. Other muster points are located in the University's general purpose computer labs on each campus.