Witney News - Witney Turns Mobiles into trees

Witney Turns Mobiles into trees

Witney company, OxTreeGen has launched a Fone Twigs recycling scheme. For every mobile phone handed in for recycling, they will plant a tree and provide a certificate.

OxTreeGen has launched a mobile phone recycling scheme to mark Climate Week 2011 and International Year of Forests. The FoneTwigs scheme aims to help schools, local businesses and individuals to help reduce their carbon footprint by planting a tree for every phone that is handed in for reuse or recycling.

The scheme is the brainchild of Mark Lay and Nick Thomas, directors of OxTreeGen, based in Witney. Nick says, “It is a pretty well known fact that there are now more mobile phones than people in the UK! Most of us get a new phone every 18 months to two years, and with 30 million handsets being sold every year, there are an awful lot of mobiles lying about gathering dust.”


“These old handsets shouldn’t be thrown away and sent to landfill. Instead let OxTreeGen recycle them, and we will plant a tree for every mobile phone we get in and send a certificate detailing the tree details planted for your old mobile phone. We aim to plant 2011 trees to mark Climate Week 2011, and continue the campaign throughout the rest of the year in support of the United Nations’ International Year of Forests.”

Schools, businesses and individuals are invited to join the scheme and organise phone collections as part of their Climate Week and ongoing environmental activities. You can register for a FoneTwig pack which contains posters, envelopes, and a collection bin publicising the campaign by calling 0808 178 0703.

West Witney primary school has already joined the scheme, as well as St Peter’s School Cassington, You can recycle your old mobile at the Windrush leisure centres in Witney and Bartholomew in Eynsham.

Oxford United is also supporting the scheme and fans can send their old handsets for recycling in the envelopes provided in programmes at the match with Crewe Alexandra on 19th March. Recycling bins for collecting mobiles will also be at Kassam Stadium during Climate Week 21-27 March and at the match with Burton on 27th March.

More information and locations of mobile phone drop off points can be found at www.Oxtreegen.com

Climate Week Tree Planting
Climate Week starts on 21st March, and the first tree planting will take place that week in Abingdon. Trees to be planted include hazel, ash, dogwood, sycamore, field maple and crab apple.