Very few mobile users, especially those that don’t plan to recycle their phones for cash, realise that one of the consequences of the boost in mobile use has been a threat to the world’s gorilla population. A small, but key part to a mobile phone, is a transistor which has at its heart a mineral called Coltan. And over 80% of the world’s Coltan supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unfortunately, 95% of that is mined illegally from the gorilla habitat regions.

Theoretically, the gorillas live in national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and people are only allowed in there for recreational purposes. The reality is far from that of course and the national parks are the background to savage conflicts and wars, mainly over the large mineral despots that lie there. Miners move through the areas, clearing precious habitats by felling trees and scraping the earth, looking for Coltan.

This is then sent to distributors who then combine it with tantalum which is actually a transistor which is in all mobile phones and other electrical appliances.  It’s not only mobile phones which cause the problem. Observers saw an rapid increase in mining as the development of the Sony PlayStation II entertainment device was being planned and manufactured. This caused a huge spike in world demand for Coltan and even more illegal mining was seen throughout the protected areas.

So environmentalists are making a special plea for people to really consider recycling their old phones for cash. This can take the form of raising cash for themselves, or their chosen charity. One thing is for sure, the more old phones for cash recycling are reused, the less Coltan is needed.

It’s World Earth day on Wednesday (22 April 2009) and it’s the one day in the year that we’re meant to pause and consider just what we’re doing to this planet of ours, especially when it comes to mobile phone recycling.

Now, this is mostly a U.S. inspired event, so it might pass unnoticed in Europe, but it serves to focus attention on the state of the planet throughout the month of April. Go onto to the Earth Day site and you’ll get the idea, It’s a collection of festivals, rallies and general environmental activities.

The organisers say that: “Earth Day broadens the base of support for environmental programs, rekindles public commitment and builds community activism around the world through a broad range of events and activities.”

Started way back in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, it’s a chance for people to get eco-friendly and keep their green credentials for the rest of the year at least. So people are encouraged to install solar panels on their roofs, start mobile phone recycling and cut down on car use. And by doing so, also spread the word to others.

The day is trumpeted by the Earth Day Network which reaches over 15,000 organisations in 174 countries. In the U.S, itself there are over 5,000 individual groups and 100,000 educators who co-ordinate millions of community development and environmental projects throughout the year.

And one mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola, is taking the opportunity of World Earth Day to educate people about mobile phone recycling. They reckon that over 400,000 cell phones are finished with each day in the U.S., and that only 10% of these are recycled.

Not only do Motorola believe in not sending old phones to landfill sites, they have manufactured the first mobile phone made from recycled water bottles and by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions in its manufacture, they claim that the MOTO W233 handset is the world’s first carbon neutral phone.

So there you are, don’t let World Earth Day pass without doing something to make you, and the planet, a little greener. Whether it is a bit of mobile phone recycling, or taking all your plastic bottles to the recycling centre, it all helps.