Join the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Rethinking, Reducing, Reusing and Recycling! Participate in our community-recycling program based out of My House at Habitat Hollow.
The Zoo is working with ReCellular to collect used cell phones, chargers, accessories and cell phone batteries. All collected items will be sent to ReCellular to be rebuilt, reused and/or recycled.
My House will also be collecting plastic six-pack rings for recycling through the Ring Leader Recycling Program. The collected six-pack rings will be sent to ITW Hi-Cone to be processed into new photodegradable six-pack rings.
Interpretive staff will be on hand daily in the My House exhibit to collect items for recycling from Zoo visitors. If you have questions regarding the recycling program, call (614) 724-3602.
Facts about plastic six-pack rings
- It takes 125 plastic six-pack rings to make up one pound of material.
- Between 1991 and 2001 over three million plastic six-pack rings were recovered for recycling through the Hi-Cone® Ring Leader Recycling Program.
- More than 12,000 schools in the United States have participated in the Ring Leader Recycling Program.
- After only a few days of being in direct sunlight, photodegradable six-pack rings lose about 75 percent of their strength.
- Creating paperboard packaging for 1,000 12-ounce cans requires 82.7 pounds of materials. Creating photodegradable six-pack rings for the same number of cans requires only 8.4 pounds of materials.
- Photodegradable six-pack rings contain no toxic additives, so its breakdown into the environment is non-polluting.
Facts about cellular phones
- Due to advances in technology, more than 200 million cellular phones are taken out of service each year.
- Cell phones contain toxic materials such as arsenic, mercury, lead, copper, zinc and brominated flame-retardants.
- Cell phones discarded into landfills can potentially release these toxic materials into the air and groundwater supplies.
- Through charitable recycling, some refurbished phones are provided to abused adults and children for 911 (emergency only) service.
- Other recipients of refurbished phones include medial patients awaiting organ transplants and citizens of countries in which land lines are not available and the cost of new phones are prohibitive.
- Phones that cannot be rebuilt and reused are recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.
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Other Recycling resources: