Sept. 1, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State athletic department and General Environmental Management, Inc. have teamed up to put together a cell phone recycling program that will take place Sept. 3 at the SDSU-UCLA football home opener at Qualcomm Stadium. For every recycled cell phone, the Aztec Athletic Foundation will receive $1 to help raise money for athletic scholarships.
"This is a unique opportunity for Aztec fans to recycle their old cell phones, help the environment and SDSU athletics," said senior associate athletic director Steve Becvar. "It's also a great way for us to raise money for our athletic scholarships."
General Environmental Management, Inc., headquartered in Pomona, Calif., is heading the recycling effort, due to the growing problem of discarded cell phones.
"We have seen this situation mushroom and decided to do something about it," said company executive and SDSU alum John A. Brunkow. "Since some of the materials used are toxic, it is harmful to the environment to simply throw them away."
"With 100 million cell phones in use in the U.S., the problem of recycling and disposal is becoming critical," Brunkow added. "As far as we know, San Diego State is the first university in the country to be part of such an important environmentally-helpful program."
Beginning with the UCLA game, fans can drop off their old or unused cell phones in special cell phone containers at all entrances of the stadium. As an alternative, people can also bring their old phones to The Mighty 1090 AM tailgate party at section G1.
In addition to the home opener, the recycling program will resume for the Sept. 24 contest against San Jose State with plans to start a similar program on campus in the near future.