Eastern Lowland Gorillas are Critically Endangered. You can help protect wild gorillas in Africa simply by donating your old mobile phones.
With your help, we have recycled and re-purposed more than 180,000 devices donated by individuals, schools and businesses, raising more than $290,000 for conservation.
- We accept the following items in any condition: mobile phones, tablets, chargers and headphones.
- We offer free courier pick up for collections of 10 or more phones Australia-wide.
- Every phone helps support the work of the Gorilla Doctors, who provide life-saving medical care to fragile, wild gorilla populations.
How you can help
Want to start your own phone collection at your school, workplace or community group?
Let your colleagues, school or friends know that a phone collection is happening to help gorillas. Download and print or send the below materials to promote your collection.
- They're Calling on You A3 poster for printing (PDF)
- They're Calling on You A4 Information sheet (PDF)
- Phone Collection box labels (PDF)
Contact us if you have any questions about your phone collection. We also love to hear how your collection is going!
Image of Western Lowland Gorilla
What's the connection between mobile phones and gorillas?
One of the biggest threats to Eastern Lowland Gorillas is the mining of minerals such as coltan, a metallic ore used in mobile phones and other electronic devices. As demand for mobile phones increases, so too does the mining of vital gorilla habitat. Not only does this destroy forests, but the smartphone manufacturing process involving land clearing and mining and transport of precious minerals, means that smartphones generate a larger carbon footprint than any other consumer electronic device.
By recycling mobile phones, we can reclaim over 95% of their materials, preserve gorilla habitat, and keep phones out of landfill. We encourage you to use your phone for as long as possible, and when you upgrade, please recycle your old phone through our They’re Calling On You program.
Make a big difference
Donating your used mobile phones helps raise important funds for the Gorilla Doctors, who are the only organisation able to provide life-saving medical care to fragile wild gorilla populations in Africa. These populations are threatened by human activities, such as those associated with mining for minerals that go into making our phones.
Every phone makes a big impact. An estimate of how phone collections can help wild gorillas is below:
- 10 phones = petrol needed for Gorilla Doctors to reach the forest to monitor the health of gorillas
- 50 phones = anaesthetic to help provide veterinary care to an injured or ill gorilla
- 100 phones = a full set of rain gear allowing Gorilla Doctors to work in bad weather
- 500 phones = a computer for Gorilla Doctors to study health trends and predict diseases outbreaks
Get your workplace, community group or school involved today!
We take your data security on devices seriously. Full data clearing services can be arranged for free when booking your courier.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the biggest threats to Eastern Lowland Gorillas (also known as Grauer's Gorillas) is the illegal mining of minerals such as coltan, a metallic ore used in technology such as mobile phones. As demand for technology increases, so too does the impact of mining on gorillas habitat.
Our recycling partner Mobile Muster breaks down phones and accessories into their different component materials. From here they are able to recycle more than 95% of your phone's materials.
We understand the importance of data security. All data contained on phones is destroyed in the recycling process, however for peace of mind, we recommend Factory Resetting and clearing data before sending phones in. Our partner Mobile Muster has provided tutorial videos on how to manage your data:
Disclaimer:
While we make every effort to ensure that the material and information on this website is accurate and up-to-date when published, it is general information intended as a guide only. Please keep in mind that you are responsible to ensure that any personal information has been erased from your mobile device. If needed, seek advice relevant to your mobile phone from the manufacturer.
We accept mobile phones and tablets of any age of in any condition, as well as all associated accessories such as chargers.
Yes. Click here to donate corporate fleet phones.
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at takeaction@zoo.org.au
If you have any questions about how you can get involved, or for more information, contact the conservation campaigns team.