Why Recycle?                     Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Benefits of Reuse/Recycling

Thinking about throwing that old computer, cell phone or electronic component in the trash?  Think again!  Computers and electronics contain toxic materials that are harmful to our environment.  Electronic or "e-waste" is one of the fastest growing problems in landfills. By calling Virgin Valley Recycling we can help you recycle responsibly.  We assure that none of your discarded electronics ends up in a landfill. We are committed to the mission of finding a suitable alternative for the equipment we collect which in turn helps the environment and our community. Call Virgin Valley Recycling today at 435-705-8827 and do your part for our planet!


What are the social benefits to recycling?

If the cell phone or computer and its accessories are in good working condition, Virgin Valley Recycling uses the proceeds of their programs to benefit local and national charitable organizations. Virgin Valley Recycling works with businesses, schools and other organizations to collect electronics as fund raising ventures. The principal markets for refurbished cell phones and life extended computers extend beyond the US.

What are the environmental benefits of reusing and recycling e-waste?

Electronic products are made from valuable resources and highly engineered materials, including metals, plastics, and glass, all of which require energy to mine and manufacture them. Reusing and recycling consumer electronics conserves our natural resources and avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing virgin materials.

For example:

• Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 US homes in a year.
• One metric ton of circuit boards can contain 40 to 800 times the concentrations of gold ore mined in the US and 30-40 times the concentration of copper ore mined in the US.

What products can be made from the materials recovered by recycling cell phones?

Almost all of the materials used to manufacture a cell phone can be recovered to make new products. Metals, plastics, and rechargeable batteries from recycled cell phones are turned into new materials and products.

Cell phones contain a number of different metals – gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, tin, and zinc – that are recovered in the recycling process. The recovered metals are then used by a number of different industries such as jewelry, plating, electronics, automotive, and art foundries.

The plastics recovered from cell phones are recycled into plastic components for new electronic devices or other plastic products such as garden furniture, license plate frames, non-food containers, and replacement automotive parts.

When the rechargeable battery can no longer be reused, the battery can be recycled into other rechargeable battery products.

What environmental benefits do we get from recycling cell phones?

Recycling your cell phone helps protect the environment in a number of ways. Cell phones are made from valuable resources such as precious metals, copper, and plastics -all of which require energy to mine and process. Recovering these materials by recycling avoids the need to mine and process new materials, which in turn, conserves our natural resources, and avoids air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, we would save the energy equivalent to the electricity used by more than 24,000 US homes in a year.

Cell phones have a number of different metals in them which can be recycled. For every million cell phones we recycle, 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Recovering metals from used cell phones can reduce extraction of raw metals from the earth.