BRING IT BACK BRO’! IN 2021 IT GOES ON WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Where can you find our collecting points?

Points in blue are still working, those in red are already closed.

What can you throw in the box and who will get the devices?

Basic phones, smartphones, gps, tablets and also their accessories such as chargers and headsets. As soon as a device is dropped in the box, it is transferred to the account of Jane Goodall Institute. Thus the former owner of the device donates about 300 HUF to the Institute which we then turn into running campaigns and starting projects for Africa.

Current status

In 2022, our autumn campaign is live between 22nd September and 22nd November. Both of them shall be organized by KÖVET Egyesület and the Ministry for Innovation and Tehcnology.

Through a grant application called NoPlanetB carried out by the Hungarian BaptistAid, we won a significant amount in 2019, which was transferred to us with the help of EU co-financing. Until we use up this amount, we are able to provide free mobile phone collection boxes for schools and CSO-s.

To join the campaign you need to fill in this form

You can order a presentation on the topic

“The initiative aims to inform Hungarian (and EU) citizens so they can be prepared to immerse themselves in the issues of global development, to change their attitudes towards sustainable development and to have new ideas.

The project also aims to provide Hungarian (and EU) citizens with tools to support the global figth against poverty. The project could be launched with the support of the EU’s Development Education and Awareness Raising Programme (DEAR). Thanks to this support, in 2020, through our collegaues working on the project, we were able to spend more on supporting the local communities in the African region, replenishing forests, renewing habitats, that is, on the
protection of the gorillas.

We started to build safe harbours around Lake Bunyonyi and with the help of Szívemben született Afrika Egyesület (Africa Born in My Heart Society) we purchased jewelry made of pearls crafted by the Manafwain women. The latter can be found at Shop

Join the campaign and let’s make this a better world together!

To join the campaign you need to fill this form.

Introduction of the campaign

Jane Goodall Institute launched a campaign in partnerhsip with KÖVET Egyesület, Afrikáért Alapítvány and Védegylet Egyesület targeting the mobile phones used and stored in Hungarian homes. These devices are put in different hidden nooks and corners where they lay forgotten for years until they are thrown out in the garbage. People don’t even suspect what
kind of treasure lies in them.

The coltan ore, used for mobile phone production, is mined in the African habitat of endangered species such as gorillas, which consumes their forests. We would like to stop this process therefore we decided to collect these mobiles so they can be recycled. We ask everybody to look around at home and find them and also a collecting point established by us, and take these devices there and throw them in the boxes.

To join the campaign you need to fill this form

Application

If you wish to have a collecting point at your workplace, in the office tower you work in, in the school where you study, or you can just provide us with the opportunity to be present at any event, please contact as at info@janegoodall.hu.

The used phones in the boxes are picked up for recycling by our partner Inter-Metal Recycling Kft. The phones are processed in a closed system so nobody can get hold of either the devices or the data they contain. We also invite companies to offer their unused and replaced company
phones. 

To join the campaign you need to fill this form

The collecting points are being established or closed. You can find further information about them and their launch on our  Facebook page or our Google map.

Why is the recycling of mobiles necessary and what is “coltan”? The so called metal element, tantalum is extracted from the ore called coltan. It is used to coat capacitors which are used for mobile phones, laptops, gps and tablets.

80% of the world’s coltan supply is in Africa, most of it in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is in the same area where mountain gorillas, Grauer’s gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees live. Mining of this ore has changed their habitat significantly. Forest lands are decreasing, those still present are webbed with roads used for logging.

Most of the mines are illegal. From the mines the ore is often smuggled to Kigali, Ruanda, which is therefore called “Coltanville”- referring to the fact that the city makes its living from the ore. Ruanda exports much more ore to China than exists officially in the country- this is how they try to whitewash the ore coming from the DRC. From Kigali coltan is shipped to the Western European countries by sea therefore it is in fact impossible to track back the ore to its origin. The illegal mining takes place in the habitat of gorillas in the frontier of Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Itombwe Nature Reserve and Virunga National Park.

Numbers

5,100,000,000 mobiles per 7.6 billion people in 2018. 6,000,000 people have died due to the mining of coltan since 1996. According to the calculations if the current trends are maintained there will be 5,9 billion subscribers out of 8,6 billion people by 2025. Consequently the demand for coltan can exceed 1000 tons by 2020.

However, if the ores in mobile phones are recycled the mining of them will decrease. Sources: The Mobile Economy Report 2018, GSM Association

https://www.gsmaintelligence.com/

https://www.counterpointresearch.com/

How is mining carried out and what kind of conflicts does it cause?

The safety measures of the mining in Congo are best not mentioned. Child labour is common, furthermore the mines are supervised by illegal semi-military forces.

All of these mines are opencast, therefore their establisment starts with the deforestation of a land in the size of one or two football fields which is then constantly broadened. Small channels, which are strengthened by shaky bulks, are dug in the ground. Children can access these small channels with no effort.

Photo: : https://wrm.org.uy (World Rainforest Movement

If they are fortunate, the miners are paid 1 or 2 dollars per day. Those with less luck work for the lives of their wives and daughters who are kept prisoners. Mining is the only income for Congolese men in most of the cases since their lands are usually taken by rebel militia and thus they literally take away their living.

Sources: How to manage the treasure of Earth? (www.overconsumption.eu, www.vedegylet.hu) Wildlife Conservation

Society Report: Investigating artisanal mining and bushmeat around protected areas: KBNP and Itomtwe Reserve, June 2015

What is the effect of mining on animals?

Thousands of animals are slaughtered to be fed to humans locally. “According to the reports of the employees in the national park approximately 3150 families (>10000 people) living off mining moved to the property of Kahuzi-Biega National Park in 2000. These families were accompanied by 300 hunters with Kalashnikovs provided by the militia overseeing the mines and who hunted animals for food for the miners.

Presumably 3700 elephants and 8000 gorillas were slaughered.” According to the 2018 Living Planet Report of WWF 80% of primates has been erased from Earth since 1960 and also 60% of mammals. We don’t have any more time, we need to act immediately!

Sources: Report by Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) – 2006
International Gorilla Conservation Programme
( http://igcp.org ); http://wwf.panda.org

*SA Peterson Biopolicy: The Life Sciences and Public Policy , 2012

Regulating imports of the conflict minerals:

•  2014 US Under the Dodd–Frank-Act companies must conduct a reasonable ‘country of origin’ inquiry that must be performed in good faith and be reasonably designed to determine from where the 3TG supply is originated. On 22nd August, 2012 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) accepted a cautionary act for the so called conflict minerals, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mentioned in section 1502 of the Dodd- Frank Act. This rule requires a company purchasing raw materials (*1) from the Democratic Republic of Congo or from the neighbouring countries to provide a report describing the measures it has taken in order that these countries won’t support militia committing crimes against humanity with their revenue coming from ore sales
• 2016 EU The draft Regulation of the the European Commission requires more than 95% of the imported tin, tantalum, niobium and gold to arrive to the European Union from a responsible source. The legislation enters into force on 1st January, 2021.
• According to the UN report such official tax seals can be bought on the black market of Congo and Ruanda that are used by the assigned international authorities to confirm that the ores are originated from a legal source. It is also a common phenomenon that a raw material mined in a conflict zone is smuggled to a neighbouring country and then transported further as if it was mined in Ruanda or Angola. Unlike in the case of diamonds, the origin of tantalum can’t be determined later.

The Regulation of the the European Commission requires more than 95% of the imported tin, tantalum, niobium and gold to originate from a responsible source which gives hope to the local primates and humans that the economic model built on the exploitation of the Earth will end and thus it can lead to a political realignment.

Sources: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/hu/press-room/20170308IPR65672/konfliktusbolszarmazo-asvanykincsek-kotelezo-ellenorzes-importoroknek

The answer of Jane Goodall Institute in regard of the problem: 

Bring it Back Bro’!

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Dr. Jane Goodall considers the recycling of the mobile phones an important issue therefore she sends you this message:

This is a new campagne film: