RBRC and RadioShack Launch National Cell Phone Recycling Week

The first National Cell Phone Recycling Week began yesterday with Call@Recycle, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation's (RBRC) cell phone recycling program, and RadioShack Corporation encouraging consumers to drop off their old cell phones at local RadioShack locations across the nation to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

According to the Yankee Group, Inc., more than 100 million cell phones will be replaced with newer, more feature-rich phones this year alone. By recycling old cell phones, consumers can help keep unwanted materials out of landfills and preserve natural resources. Phones collected through the Call2Recycle program will be refurbished and resold when possible.

This year for every cell phone collected at a RadioShack store location, and subsequently refurbished and resold, $1 will be contributed to the NCMEC.

"Cell phones always change, but our mission never does," Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC, says. "We believe that this partnership with RadioShack and the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation will go a long way toward assisting us in our efforts to prevent child abduction and exploitation."

In mid 2003, RadioShack joined forces with NCMEC to create StreetSentz, an initiative designed to provide tools and education to families about ways to keep children safer from abduction, violence and exploitation. Since its inception, StreetSentz has reached more than 850,000 children with ID kits and family safety brochures printed in English and Spanish.

"As the leading retailer of wireless communications products in the U.S., we facilitate thousands of wireless battery and handset sales each day," said Lou Provost, senior vice president and chief channel operations officer for RadioShack. "In many of those transactions, the old battery and handset is kept by the customer, but seldom ever used again. Bottom line, if a customer buys a new handset or has an old one they are no longer using, they should visit one of our 7,000 neighborhood RadioShack stores and contribute it to Call2Recycle to benefit two great causes."

Since 1994, RBRC has collected over 22 million pounds of rechargeable batteries -- those found in a growing list of portable electronics products including cell phones, as well as power tools, cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders and remote control toys.

RadioShack has been involved in RBRC's rechargeable battery collection program since 1995 and has been a leading participant ever since. Ralph Millard, executive vice president of RBRC, says, "We are honored to partner with RadioShack, which is likewise committed to community issues. Because child abduction and exploitation is something that affects all communities, NCMEC is an obvious choice to benefit from the Call2Recycle program."

Concurrent with the Call2Recycle initiative, RadioShack also announced it is making its free StreetSentz Child ID kits, developed in conjunction with the NCMEC, available in its stores during October to help families record and maintain important information about their children in one handy location.

National Cell Phone Recycling Week will take place October 11-18th, however the RadioShack/NCMEC program will continue throughout 2005. Consumers can find the nearest participating drop off location by calling 1-877-2- RECYCLE or by visiting www.call2recycle.org. Consumers may also contact 1-800-The Shack or www.radioshack.com. All wireless phones, regardless of condition, will be accepted.