Motorola’s “Race to Recycle” in US schools

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) has launched the “Race to Recycle,” a first-of-its-kind fund-raising effort by a leading mobile-phone manufacturer to connect community involvement, classroom experience, and environmental awareness.

The core objective of the Race to Recycle is to help schools raise money for scholastic and extra-curricular activities. Any accredited K-12 school in the United States is eligible to earn cash by collecting mobile phones that people no longer use. Motorola will accept mobile phones made by any manufacturer – as long as the handsets are physically intact.

Around the world, more than 1.7 billion people use mobile phones as their primary means of communication – and every second of every day about 23 new mobile handsets roll off the world’s assembly lines. As a result, mobile phones have become as ubiquitous as newspapers – a traditional target for school recycling drives – but mobile handsets are easier for students to collect and recycle.

Schools participating in the Race to Recycle will receive $3 per intact phone – earning a maximum of $21,000 per calendar year, which would require the collection of 7,000 intact mobile phones. Additionally, Motorola is developing a multi-grade educational component for teachers to use in the classroom – enabling teachers to combine theory and application for a complete educational experience.

John L. Husmann Elementary in Crystal Lake, Illinois, participated in the pilot launch. The school’s 500-strong student body raised nearly $1,500, which the school has used to purchase new overhead projectors for its classrooms.

The Race to Recycle’s target is the collection of 1,000,000 mobile phones by the end of the 2004-2005 school year. Schools can get started by visiting www.motorola.com/racetorecycle to register and get specifics about program guidelines.