GO has teamed up with the Jesuit community in Malta and is pledging its full support to the campaign ‘A New Life for your Old Mobile Phone’ that involves the collection of old mobile phones in aid of Jesuit projects in Africa. As a result of GO’s partnership with the Jesuit community, GO customers can participate in the charity campaign and bring in their old mobile phones for recycling at any of the GO retail outlets and exclusive resellers in Malta and Gozo.

In line with the drive, GO is now launching an appeal to customers not to leave their dead mobile phones just sitting around in drawers, closets and who knows where else every time they upgrade their phones – which people do every 18 months on average! Recycling old phones plays a vital role in preserving the environment as mobile phones contain materials which could be harmful if they end up dumped in landfills or incinerators. especially since many of the phones’ components can be recycled.

Old mobile phones brought in to GO outlets and exclusive resellers will be donated to the organisers of the collection campaign and sold for recycling to raise funds for two specific Jesuit projects. One project involves helping Jesuits in Kenya to run Nyumbani – the orphanage for children who lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic. Orphans are cared for and educated at Nyumbani and in addition, HIV-affected children at the orphanage are given medical treatment. The other project aims to provide solar-powered stoves to poor African families in Chad – saving the women miles of walking to fetch firewood and at the same time protecting the rapidly-deteriorating environment.

Addressing a news conference on the recycling of old mobile phones, GO CEO David Kay said: “Besides the philanthropic aspect of our involvement in this campaign, we are delighted to be part of the recycling initiative of mobile phones which in itself is an ideal way to protect the environment and go green.”

“Millions of unwanted mobile phones are either awaiting disposal in users’ homes or seeping hazardous materials including lead, mercury, cadmium and even arsenic into the environment.”

“Yet only 10 to 15% are being recycled in the world today while the rest, for the most part, end up in the litter bin causing tons of toxic waste that adversely affect the air we breathe and the water we drink. The good news is that when phones find their way to recycle centres they can be refurbished and put to good use. Many mobile phone parts are instrumental in the manufacture of new units while the gold, silver and platinum contained in the phones can be reused,” he said.

“It is good to know that what is superfluous or not useful can be a life-saving gift for a brother or sister in Africa. Our physical environment will be cleaner too through our recycling efforts,” said Fr. Paul Chetcuti sj who heads the campaign. He thanked GO for its support and expressed his gratitude to all those who had donated mobiles so far, encouraging members of the public to follow suit.

He stated that the campaign, launched some months ago, has already generated much interest and a generous response. There was no doubt that, thanks to GO’s collaboration, the campaign would be more successful and hundreds of locals would find it more convenient to donate their old mobile phones.

George Pullicino, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment commended the Jesuit campaign particularly noting the eco-friendly aspect of the initiative. He congratulated GO on taking an active part in the mobile recycling campaign and supporting other local events with an environmental-friendly focus. He made reference to various eco-friendly initiatives implemented by government in the past few years and said that more and more people in Malta were now realising the importance of going green and decreasing their individual carbon footprint. Business environment too in Malta was fast becoming more environmentally conscious and making a larger contribution to green issues.

For more information on the campaign ‘A New Life for your Old Mobile Phone’, members of the public can call Patrizia Borg on 79928088 or Ian Farrugia: 79729772. They can also opt to send an email: mobiles.missjoni@gmail.com

From left – Maria Jourdan, GO’s Sponsorships & Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Maria Jourdan, GO CEO, David Kay dropping an old mobile as part of the campaign, The Hon. George Pullicino, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment and Fr. Paul Chetcuti sj who heads the campaign.

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