Finally, a school fundraising idea that doesn't require parents to purchase fattening holiday chocolate. And it's good for the environment.
So say the founders of EcoPhones, a company that uses large-scale collection of electronic waste as a fundraising concept.
Specifically, the company recycles cell phones, inkjet printer cartridge, laptop computers, iPods, digital cameras and digital video cameras.
Where does EcoPhones get the stuff? Schools, churches and other community organizations collect them, then sell them to the company, which either repairs and resells the items or breaks them down into raw materials for reuse.
The company isn't choosy about what it will purchase. Damaged, non-working and non-listed models are all ripe for recycling, although some are worth more than others.
An old Nextel i605, for example, will net you just 50 cents; a used iPhone 3G/16GB, on the other hand, trades for $300.
So the financial success of a fundraiser will depend on the mix of the stuff you collect and then ship (for free) to EcoPhones.
Environmentally, though, the program seems like a winner, since it keeps used electronics - which can contain toxic substances like arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc - out of our landfills.
That's critical since, for example, the cadmium from a single cell phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water - the equivalent of 1.2 million 16-ounce coffees.
And we all know there's nothing worse than cadmium in your morning cup o' joe.