AT&T teams up with Arbor Day Foundation to heal Calif. wildfire scars

[Jack Aylmer]

THAT OLD CELL PHONE YOU HAVE LYING AROUND MAY BE WORTH SOME “GREEN”.  BUT IT’S NOT THE GREEN YOU THINK.

A-T-& T AND ASSURANT PROTECTION COMPANY ARE TEAMING UP TO SUPPORT THE ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION’S REFORESTATION EFFORTS IN CALIFORNIA. 

EVERY PHONE, TABLET, OR DEVICE TRADED IN TO AT&T ONLINE OR IN-STORE DURING APRIL WILL SUPPORT THE PLANTING OF A TREE

AT THE PLACERVILLE NURSERY FOR CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE REFORESTATION.  THIS IS THE STATE’S ONLY FOREST SERVICE NURSERY AND ONE OF SIX NATIONWIDE. THE CAMPAIGN AIMS TO PLANT 75,000 NEW TREES AT THE NURSERY. THOSE TREES WILL LATER BE TRANSPLANTED INTO FORESTS AND COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY THE RECENT LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES.

THE DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AT A-T-&T SPOKE TO STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS MONDAY ABOUT THE EFFORT.

[Roman Smith/Director of Global Environmental Sustainability at AT&T]

“all these electronics that were, that were out there, that are doing great things for our life, but, but they are also, there’s millions of devices that are just simply just being discarded. And it is the largest, it is a problem because the largest, now solid waste stream that we have as far as waste is concerned.”

[Jack]

AT&T SAYS THE PROGRAM IS PART OF A BROADER DISASTER RESPONSE STRATEGY. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE DISASTER… AT&T OFFERED FREE WI-FI, CHARGING STATIONS, AND MOBILE CONNECTIVITY DURING WILDFIRE EVACUATIONS, AS WELL AS $2 MILLION IN RELIEF DONATIONS.

THE LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO REGIONS SAW MULTIPLE DEADLY WILDFIRES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY.

AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE DIED IN THE FIRES… MORE THAN 18-THOUSAND HOMES AND STRUCTURES WERE DESTROYED.  THE FIRES BURNED OVER 57-THOUSAND ACRES OF LAND.  

LAST WEEK  A-T-& T KICKED OFF THEIR “EARTH MONTH” COMMITMENT BY OFFERING TREES FOR OLD TECH IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS.

MORE THAN 250 TREES WERE DISTRIBUTED.  

EACH DAY AN ESTIMATED 400- THOUSAND CELL PHONES ARE THROWN AWAY IN THE UNITED STATES.  THAT’S MORE THAN 150- MILLION IN A YEAR. 55 MILLION DEVICES HAVE BEEN RECYCLED BACK TO A-T-&T SINCE 2009. BUT IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT ABOUT REFURBISHING NEWER DEVICES.

[Roman Smith/Director of Global Environmental Sustainability at AT&T]

“a lot of folks have heard the term, especially lately, in the in news and so forth, about rare earth minerals, right when and when you think about these types of devices, and in all electronic devices, there are a lot of rare earth minerals in there.”

[Jack]

ACCORDING TO THE E-P-A, FOR EVERY MILLION CELL PHONES WE RECYCLE, 35 THOUSAND POUNDS OF COPPER, 772 POUNDS OF SILVER, 75 POUNDS OF GOLD AND 33 POUNDS OF PALLADIUM CAN BE RECOVERED.

SO, HOW DOES PLANTING TREES HELP PLAY A ROLE IN OFFSETTING E-WASTE? 

[Roman Smith/Director of Global Environmental Sustainability at AT&T]

((what we found is trees connect with people. Trees connect with our consumer. Consumers. When you think about the environmental discussion and trying to get them to take action, they respond to trees.)) 

[JACK]

LAST YEAR, THE SAME INITIATIVE LED TO THE PLANTING OF OVER 50,000 TREES ACROSS OREGON AND FLORIDA.

AT&T AND THE ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION HAVE TEAMED UP FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS… PLANTING OVER ONE -POINT -TWO MILLION TREES.

THE TREE FOR A TRADE-IN CAMPAIGN GOES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF APRIL AT ALL A-T-& T STORES.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS I’M JACK AYLMER.