While visiting the Bronx Zoo yesterday I went to the Congo Gorilla Forest, a great exhibit with more than 20 western lowland gorillas. Outside the exhibit I noticed a recepticle and a sign asking people to recycle their old cell phones. You are probably wondering, what does my cell phone have to do with gorillas? Unfortunately, according to National Geographic News, it has a lot to do with it. Many electronic devices, including ipods, most computers, dvd players and game consoles, contain coltan, a mineral that is extracted from the forests of Congo in central Africa. These forests are the home to the endangered lowland gorillas. In recent years Congo's coltan mining has gotten out of control and has led to a dramatic loss of animal habitat and a 70% population decline of gorillas. More than 10,000 illegal miners have come to dig for coltan in protected parks in cental Africa, killing gorillas and elephants for the bush-meat trade (the hunting of wild animals for food.)
But thanks to Eco-cell, which runs a recycling program at 46 different zoos, we can recycle old cellphones and be a part of the solution. Click here to find where to go in your area to recycle your old cell phones. For more information on the Congo and a list of products that contain coltan, visit The Friends of the Congo website.
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