By A.M. Kelley
Catholic Herald
Knights collect old cell phones for recycling
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Knights of Columbus members at St. John the Baptist, Webster, Marv Merle, left, Russ Peterson, Leo Lyngle and Don Cosmano, gather before Mass on Sunday and show some used cell phones they've collected. Statewide, the Knights are selling donated used phones to a Florida recycler and giving the proceeds to Wisconsin Special Olympics. (Catholic Herald photo by A.M. Kelley) |
WEBSTER -- One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingies. Answer the phone or better yet, if it's a cellular, give it to the Knights of Columbus. They're raising money in an unusual way.
All over the state, the Knights are collecting used cell phones. A Florida recycling firm pays them anywhere from $1 to $100 per phone depending on the model. The Knights pass 100 per cent of the proceeds on to one of their favorite charities, Wisconsin Special Olympics.
No one is more surprised at the success of the fundraiser than Marv Merle, the head of the Knights local council 8985 of three Burnett County churches: St. John the Baptist, Webster; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Danbury; and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Crescent Lake.
"How can any money be made at this?" he said when the idea was proposed by John Benisch, the Knights' state coordinator of the fundraiser.
By his own admission, Merle is a rare bird -- a non-cell phone user in a high-tech family in a high-tech world. He put his skepticism aside and joined the fund-raiser, helped place cell phone collection boxes around the county and watched a magical thing happened -- the boxes filled up with phones.
"People are turning them in, in great numbers," Merle said. "I was astounded."
The fundraiser takes very little effort and has virtually no administrative costs, he said. When people upgrade their phones and buy the latest models, the old ones gather dust. When they switch companies, it's the same story; the old phones have to be replaced.
Benisch said the Wisconsin Knights signed a one-year contract with RMS last June and have collected more than 500 phones since then.
They've put collection boxes in churches, convenience stores and banks.
"Any place people can walk in to is a good place to have a box," Benisch said.
In Wisconsin the Knights have 280 councils but only 82 of these are participating in the program so far.
"It's something every K of C can do," he said. "We're trying to get more (councils) involved."
They're also going to extend the contract with RMS because cellular technology is red hot right now. It is estimated that 130 million cell phones -- or 65,000 tons -- are disposed of each year in the United States, according to facts published by the Florida recycler, RMS Communications. And by the end of 2005, RMS believes that 500 million cell phones will be out of service and gathering dust.
If these phones end up in landfills, the environment would suffer. They contain chemicals that could pollute groundwater and air. Recycling keeps them out of landfills but RMS also reconditions some and removes precious metals from others.
The Knights are pleased to find a fund-raiser which seems to be a win-win situation all the way around.
"We'll probably carry on this program for quite a few years," Benisch said.
Other than in Burnett County, cell phone recycle boxes are scattered throughout the Diocese of Superior in Hammond, Turtle Lake, Spooner, Bruce, Hudson, Iron River, Ashland and Superior. To dispose of cell phones in other areas of the state, e-mail Benisch at johnb45@tds.net.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2006