Saving the Rainforest with Old Cell Phones

Rainforest Connection could be saving the rainforest with old cell phones!

Rainforests have some of the most complicated soundscapes on the planet. In this dense noise of insects, primates, birds, and everything else that moves in the forest, how can you detect the sounds of illegal logging?

The old cell phone you have sitting in your desk drawer may have the answer.

How do you go about saving the rainforest with old cell phones?

After a visit to the rainforests of Borneo, physicist and engineer Topher White was struck by the sounds of the forest. In particular, the noises he couldn’t hear.

While on a walk, White and others came across an illegal logger sawing down a tree just a few hundred meters away from a ranger station.

This incident set White thinking that perhaps the best way to save the Earth’s precious rainforest is to listen to its loggers and poachers. The innovation he came up with, Rainforest Connection, uses old cell phones to help to save the planet in a big way.

Here is Topher White on the National Geographic Live stage…

Great people becoming empowered to make a difference…
It’s hard to feel like our actions have an impact in solving a problem like deforestation. We can choose to change our spending habits to stop the economic support of deforestation, but this doesn’t necessarily have an impact at the root of the problem.

We can, though, choose to support projects like Rainforest Connection!

If you have an old cell phone you want to give a second life saving the rainforest, you can send it to Rainforest Connection, and if the device doesn’t work for their needs, the donation will still go to supporting the project. You can check out how you can get involved with this project over on the Rainforest Connection website.

When we think about the new generation of technology, are we considering whether these innovations are becoming more sustainable and Eco-friendly?

If you are anything like me, you are the sad owner of a cell phone graveyard. A drawer filled with the technology I no longer use; ancient iPods, my first flip phone, and years of cracked iPhones. I’m not proud of this drawer, but honestly, I just don’t know what to do with it! Fixing them feels impossible, throwing them away seems wrong, so what are we to do?

Sure, recycling cell phones is an option (don’t worry, we’ll help you with that later in the article), but is that really a long term solution?

Small electronics like cell phones are an enormous contributor to the waste stream and greenhouse gas emissions, yet we rarely hear about how these kinds of technologies are becoming more sustainable. We have greener cleaning products, more efficient cars, even recycled toilet paper, but so little of our time is spent thinking about the impact the technologies we use every day have on the planet.

Luckily, there are people who are aware of this problem and are finding innovative ways to change the way we use, think about, and recycle our technology.

Here’s the YouTube Channel Vox, with some good news about the future, and what we can do with that graveyard drawer!

A Greener Future Beyond Recycling Cell Phones…

If you are in the U.S. or Canada you can check out Gazelle or Call 2 Recycle, the two resources they mentioned in the video. And if you live elsewhere, you can probably find a technology recycling solution by trying a quick Google search for e-waste recycling in your area.

We’ve talked about creative ways that people are re-purposing technology on Ever Widening Circles (EWC) before, and one of my favorite examples is the organization Rainforest Connection that uses old cell phones to help protect the rainforest. I have to admit, though, until I watched today’s video, I didn’t quite grasp the enormous impact our e-waste has on the environment.

As is so often the case, it’s easy to overlook the simple ways we can help to contribute to a brighter collective future. As consumers, though, we have the power to change the way companies operate. By remaining informed about the broader impact our buying choices have, we can help to support businesses that have a positive environmental and social impact.

Being informed also helps us reduce our waste overall! Simple things like repairing or buying our clothes second hand, recycling our plastics, or supporting green energy become second nature.