METI’s Campaign Collects 567,000 Used Cell Phones by February

Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) announced on Friday the ministry has collected used cellular phones at cumulative 567,000 units until the end of February at a quick estimation. METI launched a campaign to collect used cell phones in late November 2009. The collecting rate was relatively high around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. The collection rate was 33% around Tokyo, 29% around Osaka and 17% around Nagoya.

Cumulative weights of Reusable metals were gold at 22 kilogram, silver at 79 kg, copper at 5,670 kg and palladium at 2 kg contained inside the collected phones. METI continues to appeal and penetrate the campaign in and after March.