Sprint announced today its renewed partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for "Plug-In To eCycling National Cell Phone Recycling Week," April 5-11, 2010. Sprint is launching an aggressive social media campaign to build upon the 3.7 million phones that it collected for reuse and recycling in 2009.

"Sprint is pleased to work again with the EPA to increase awareness and consumer participation in electronics recycling, or eCycling," said Ralph Reid, Sprint vice president of Corporate Responsibility. "We are committed to eCycling efforts. With approximately 16,000 cell phones discarded every hour in the U.S., we encourage our customers and other wireless customers to give their old phones a second life by recycling them."

Leading the industry in wireless recycling, Sprint was the first to set an ambitious, long-term goal to recover for reuse or recycling the equivalent of 90 percent of handsets sold by 2017. Sprint's collection rate for 2009 was 42 percent, up from a 34 percent rate the previous year. In total, Sprint's take back programs have diverted more than 20 million cell phones from landfills for reuse or recycling since 2001.

National Cell Phone Recycling Week aligns with Sprint's mission to reduce the environmental impact of products and services. In March, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse testified in front of Congress and announced another milestone - the launch of Sprint's expanded wireless buy-back program. Sprint is the only major U.S. wireless carrier to offer in-store financial incentives to consumers for recycling their eligible devices regardless of make, manufacturer or carrier.

• Sprint Buyback offers an instant account credit at point of sale to current and new Sprint customers who turn in up to three eligible wireless devices, per active line of service each year. More than 900 wireless devices are currently eligible for credit of up to $250 at more than 2,400 participating Sprint retail stores nationwide.
• Sprint Project Connect accepts all wireless phones, batteries, accessories and data cards, regardless of carrier or condition and is available to everyone. Free postage-paid envelopes are available at any Sprint-owned retail store and come in the box with most new phones sold by Sprint. All net proceeds generated from the wireless equipment collected by Sprint Project Connect help keep kids safer online through Sprint's 4NetSafety^SM program. Charitable partners include the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the NEA Health Information Network.

To further drive recycling rates, Sprint is launching a video on April 5 entitled "16,000 Phones" that features Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, and providing program updates and statistics via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the Sprint Community site during National Cell Phone Recycling Week. Follow Sprint on Twitter at @SprintGreenNews, hashtag #ecycling, and become a Sprint Facebook fan to join the conversation.

SOURCE: Sprint