$2.3 million! That’s the amount that Starship Foundation has managed to raise through its green effort. The money is donated to Starship National Air Ambulance Service. Wondering what the effort is? The foundation has been encouraging New Zealanders to recycle their old phones. The monetary share of what comes out of recycling goes to the air ambulance service provider. The whole thing began about half a decade ago in the year 2009. Of course, the credit goes to the country’s citizens too for coming forward to give away their old cell phones for the noble cause.
Raising Money for the Air Ambulance Service
The charitable effort has been a success mainly because of Starship Foundation’s great networking ability. It has tied up with Vodafone and Spark stores spread throughout the country where people can drop off their old cell phones. It is believed that the foundation contributes about 1.5 million annually to Starship National Air Ambulance Service; a huge part of this is collected by recycling old cell phones. A company called Swapkit is helping the foundation in recycling these phones. The company says that for every 1 million cell phones that they receive, they divert about 150 tonnes of waste away from the landfills of New Zealand. Now that’s a true green effort; isn’t it?
What Happens to the Phones Collected for Air Ambulance Service?
The phones collected from the Vodafone and Spark outlets are segregated first and the re-useable ones are exported to African as well as Asian countries for a cheaper price. About 20 percent of the phones donated are completely useless and are disassembled with good parts being recycled. Considering the fact that Starship National Air Ambulance Service has saved several critically injured and ill New Zealanders since years, the green effort has been a lifesaver, literally. So far, the appeal by Starship has garnered about a million phones.
