Regenersis, Europe’s largest mobile phone recycler, have uploaded details of their partnership with Environment Times on their website www.regenersis.com. It can be seen in the 'What happens to your phone? in the Reuse and Recycling section - with details of the simple way you can support the magazine's charity project via your unwanted mobile phone and keep it from becoming a wasteful polluter in a landfill dumping ground too. The direct link is here

Every hour of every day approximately 1712 mobile phones are replaced in the UK alone. That’s about 428kgs of potentially harmful landfill created every hour! By recycling your unwanted handset, you are giving a new lease of life – providing much needed, affordable communications to those who need it most – people in developing countries. Phones that are too old, or beyond economical repair are sent for safe recycling, ensuring that nothing ends up in landfill.

Supporting Women Farmers in the Gambia

Regenersis have worked with Environment Times magazine since 2005 on a campaign of recycling mobile phones to help women farmers in the Gambia, West Africa.

The Gambian-run National Women Farmers' Association (NAWFA) has successfully supported 48,000 women working in 73 co-operative village groups since the mid 1990's, increasing their wealth and food security to cope with and overcome a lack of national infrastructure, adverse global financial and climate changes.

Each mobile recycled by Regenersis at its state-of-the-art recycling centre in England generates cash for NAWFA at an average rate of £7 - worth a lot in a country whose average yearly income is only £210. This is used by the NGO towards supporting their existing work of:

* Provision of low cost seeds, tools and equipment
Co-operatives and farm marketing, producing good prices
* Provision of solar power for well pump operation and drip feed irrigation
* Assistance with training and literacy
* Setting up of added-value food processing in small factories
* Efficient crop production in times of rising food prices
* Allowing the women farmers to re-invest back into their families

Link: NAWFA website

2010 focus on solar power

Environment Times has decided to concentrate this year on allocating its suport to NAWFA on the provision of solar power for horticultural irrigation, not least because solar power fits in to the sustainable business aspect of the magazine. Solar powered irrigation is just a part of the work that NAWFA achieves, and in the NGO's five year plan (outlined in the horticulture part of their website, click here), the Gambian run organisation writes on this subject: 

"Generally, most of the women's vegetable gardens use hand-dug wells and buckets and ropes for lifting water. Very often the wells are too few, and frequently collapse during the rains. The wells are re-dug several times during the dry season because they frequently dry out easily. The water lifted is often stored in empty barrels, which are collected with buckets for distribution.

This project will improve the technologies used by women for irrigation, which includes construction of deep and wide concrete lined wells and boreholes. Gardens with areas of 5ha and above will be provided with boreholes for cost effectiveness. Areas of 1-3ha will be provided with concrete lined wells, with an average of three wells per garden.

The drudgery and time spent in water lifting and distribution has made women's horticulture in the Gambia unattractive and unproductive. This project will lay a lot of emphasis on reducing the drudgery and time spent on vegetable production. The project will provide the women with low energy and low time water lifting devices. This will include small power generators and solar pumps. Reservoirs will be constructed to hold the water for distribution using standpipes and water tanks or smaller reservoirs located strategically to facilitate easy proximity or drip lines using raised tanks."

HOW CAN I HELP?

Regenersis set up a freepost account for us that is simple for you to use. You simply pop in your old mobiles into a padded envelope and write or label it up to:

FREEPOST
GREEN GAMBIA

It’s as simple as that! It would be great if as well as individuals, company or organisations could collect their old mobiles en-masse after they have been upgraded. If you also have time, it would be much appreciated if you could pop me an email letting me know you've done this to: duncan@environmenttimes.co.uk

Many thanks!

Duncan Ashcroft
Editor

Posted on Environment Times Online on 10th May 2010.