Nokia and the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) have announced the renewal of their joint collaboration for Nokia's 'Take Back' mobile phone recycling initiative. Taking the initiative to the next level, both companies will spearhead environmental awareness campaigns in schools and universities across the country.

"The EEG and Nokia have been working together on the 'Take Back' campaign since May 2009 and a total of 2,920 various brands of mobile phones have been collected as of December 2011. As recycling figures indicate, the Middle East region is still in its infancy when it comes to responsible recycling of mobile phones. This joint collaboration with an environmentally-friendly brand such as Nokia, assures the direct reach of both, a recycling channel as well as dedicated awareness campaigns for the society," said EEG Chairperson Habiba Al Marashi.

"For the past two years, we have been successful in instilling a sense of environmental and social responsibility within the corporate sector. This year, we will ramp up the campaign in our member schools and universities to engage our students' active participation in green environmental initiatives," added Al Marashi.

The new initiative involves a 'Borrow a Bin' campaign where schools can make use of a 'roving' bin for one - two weeks during which students and the school staff are encouraged to bring in their old phones of any brand for responsible recycling. The collaboration with Nokia assures that material is neither resold nor refurbished, but entering a channel to Nokia's approved recycling experts that recover 100% of the materials in the devices to produce new environmentally -friendly products. 

There will be seminars and short video presentations at schools throughout the year where brochures, posters and fliers both in English and Arabic will also be made available to educate the students on the benefits of recycling and to inform them of the entire recycling process.

"With this collaboration we aim to contribute to the long-term creation of a recycling society. This initiative will offer a channel for secure, protected and responsible mobile phone recycling. In addition, the initiative will educate the next generation on the importance of commitment to environmental actions every day, said Ulrike Vott, Nokia's regional Sustainability Manager.

The EEG will have recycling points for mobile phones whole year round while Nokia will be responsible for the environmentally correct treatment of all collected mobile devices, chargers, batteries and accessories according to Nokia's highest international environmental standards.