E-CHECK IS RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW CELL PHONE RECYCLING PROGRAM

E-Check adds yet another motorist convenience— recycling old cell phones and helping the environment

TWINSBURG, OH – January 14, 2009 – Northeast Ohioans now have a convenient place to take their old cell phones that might otherwise end up in local landfills. E-Check is rolling out a new cell phone recycling program. The program is another step towards E-Check’s goal of improving the environment— and it’s free and open to everyone.

Cell phones can be recycled at any of the 23 northeast Ohio E-Check stations. It’s especially convenient for motorists during their routine E-Check, but anyone can do it. Recycling is easy— simply put your phone in a postage-paid envelope provided by E-Check and place it in the station drop box or mailbox. As a token of thanks, motorists will receive a 15-minute long distance phone card for every phone recycled.

"By offering the cell phone recycling program, E-Check is providing people another opportunity to contribute to a greener environment," said Bob Hodanbosi, chief of the Division of Air Pollution Control at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The cell phones collected at Ohio E-Check stations will be salvaged or properly recycled so they don’t end up in a local landfill.

The cell phone recycling program is the latest in a stream of new customer conveniences from Ohio E-Check. Last fall, E-Check launched a program that replaces faulty or missing gas caps free of charge, helping many motorists pass their E-Check on the spot and immediately improving air quality.

"I believe many customers will welcome and appreciate another easy, free, convenient way to make a positive impact in our community," said Prentiss Taylor, general manager at Envirotest Systems, the company who manages the E-Check stations on behalf of Ohio EPA.

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/CellPhoneRecycling.pdf