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The reLeaf Project

Did you know that with Flipswap you can trade your mobile phone in for a Tree?

Flipswap is able to re-purpose nearly all of the millions of mobile phones and iPods that we receive each year. Unfortunately, some of those devices can not be reused and must be recycled. Flipswap has always insisted on the most eco-friendly methods from our recycling partners. Now we’re taking it a step further—we now pledge to plant a tree for every phone that is recycled through the inStore service.

Flipswap estimates they will plant 25,000 trees through the reLeaf initiative in 2008. More trees mean cleaner air to breathe, less carbon dioxide to heat things up and cleaner water to wash your hybrid car with.

How to participate

Use our handy Dealer Locator to find a Flipswap Certified retailer in your neighborhood. Take in any old mobile phones you have laying around, and tell them you’d like to trade them in for trees with Flipswap. Smile and breathe easier knowing you’ve done your part for future generations.

Flipswap Environmental Efforts

At Flipswap we are dedicated to protecting and conserving our planet’s natural resources.

Wherever possible we have woven environmentally friendly initiatives into our business. We closely monitor our consumption of resources and continually strive to reduce waste. Additionally, Flipswap is a proud EPA Waste Wise endorser.

Flipswap is Green

Flipswap began as an effort to explore the “Reuse” aspect of the “Three Green R’s”, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We understand the best way to keep used phones and other electronics out of landfills is to put them in the hands of people who can use them a second or third time around. It wasn’t long before we realized that we had covered the other “Rs” as well.

  • Reduce Flipswap reduces the number of new cell phones and other devices pushed into service by providing fully functional used alternatives to consumers across the globe. Beyond this, our warehouse is 100% green, where minimal waste is a primary focus.

  • Reuse Flipswap’s services put millions of electronic devices back into service that would otherwise be piling up in our landfills every year.

  • Recycle Flipswap works closely with our recyclers to ensure that any device that has reached the end of its useful life will be recycled using the most responsible techniques available.

All Recycling is Not Equal

E-waste piled outside a small village for burning. Lagos, Nigeria

A woman burns a circuit board over molten solder. Taizhou, China

Many “recycle companies” claim to be disposing of these end-of-life electronics properly when, in fact, they are simply shipping them overseas. A recent story on CNN.com estimates that nearly 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up in countries like China, India, and Nigeria. Workers there then use hammers, gas burners, and their bare hands to extract metals, glass, and other recyclables, thereby exposing themselves and the environment to an abundance of toxic chemicals.

In cases where we must recycle, we do it differently. All end of life devices we receive are sent to Sims Recycling Solutions. This internationally recognized recycler has facilities all over the world and meets ISO 14001 environmental management standards, ensuring that not an ounce of hazardous material ends up in our landfills.

How You Can Help

We encourage all of you, our retailers and users, to adopt these “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” philosophies and to apply them to your daily practices. If you are interested in becoming an EPA Waste Wise partner, contact us at green@flipswap.com and we can help you “Go Green” with Flipswap.