In an effort to inform new students and to spark new interest in their cell phone recycling program, the Student Senate Environment Committee is offering free movie tickets to the first 20 people who donate cell phones.

Senate Environment Committee Chair Joseph Grinnell said the committee will begin giving out tickets “when the first person drops the first cell phone into the white mailbox.”

The box is located on the countertop area along the left wall upon entering the Student Activities Center.

Donated phones will be sold to EcoPhones and proceeds will go to the Environment Committee to cover expenses not paid by the Student Senate.

The program is not limited to students and faculty.

“Because our site is listed on EcoPhones as a place to recycle cell phones in Dallas, anyone outside school can recycle as well,” Grinnell said

Grinnell said the Committee collected 20 to 25 phones in the three to four week program operated during spring 2005. His goal for this semester is to recycle 100 phones.

Statistics posted on the donations box say cell phones contain many toxic substances, which leak into soil and groundwater from landfills, and form dioxins and furans during incineration — toxins that have been associated with cancer, neurological, developmental and reproductive disorders.

“The cadmium from a single phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water. That is 1.2 million 16-ounce coffees!” Grinnell said.

This semester, the committee appointed a cell phone recycling coordinator, Diane Line, to coordinate program advertising and donations.

“I collect all the cell phones from the locked mailbox,” she said. “I send them off to EcoPhones and then, depending on the make, model and year of the phone . . . they’ll give us up to $100 per phone.”

She specified that only new phones with camera features would bring high dollar amounts. Older ones would likely yield little to no money.

Line listed lead and mercury as the biggest problems with throwing cell phones into landfills, mentioning contaminated fish.

“Pregnant women can’t eat them [fish] because of mercury,” she said.

Line also said that there are 100 million people using cell phones right now and if no one recycles, they all go into landfills. “I want to create awareness,” she said.

When people upgrade phones, Line said, the old models often end up forgotten in drawers.

“I know they’re out there somewhere,” she said.

Paper and rubber bands are provided on the donation box and Line said those donating should attach their name, contact phone number and e-mail address to the phone.

She said she will provide information to those who specify they wish to claim the donation on their taxes.

For further information on recycling and the environment, Line recommends the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at http://www.epa.gov/.

According to http://www.ecophones.com/, phones that are refurbished and resold for reuse are “flashed” — unlocked to be reprogrammable.

The site says this process wipes the phone’s memory, but EcoPhones recommends that donors clear any sensitive private information and ensure the service has been disconnected before donating.

For answers to questions about the program, call Diane Line at 214-682-065.