Congo Calling: Take Sundance Channel’s Eco Trip

Hosted by eco-adventurer David de Rothschild, Eco Trip is Sundance Channel's new eight-part original series exploring the origins and environmental impacts of everyday products. In Eco Trip's “Cell Phone" episode, airing Tuesday, June 2, 9:00 p.m., de Rothschild meets with WCS-Africa director Dr. James Deutsch at the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest to learn how the production of cell phones affects wild gorilla habitat.

Beneath the Congo jungle in central Africa lie deposits of the mineral coltan. When ground into a powder, coltan is able to conduct electricity without becoming overheated, ideal for use in the circuit boards of cell phones. Coltan mining takes place in areas vital to the survival of populations of endangered western lowland gorillas. But the mining not only destroys gorilla habitat, it also opens the forest to the bushmeat industry, putting many species into harm’s way. Poachers use the mining roads to gain deeper access into the forest. Miners also eat the local bushmeat.

With the making of each new cell phone, more coltan is needed—Americans discard more than 425,000 cell phones each day. That is 155 million phones each year. That’s a lot of coltan. But it doesn’t have to be.

Help save gorillas: Recycle your old cell phones.
While WCS works to conserve gorilla habitat in the Congo and to curb the multi-billion dollar wildlife trade worldwide, you can help lessen the demand for coltan in your own neck of the woods. Keep your phone longer and recycle it when you are through. Many companies recycle or reuse cell phones, and many cities offer phone drop-off points—such as the Eco-Cell cellphone recyling bins located at the Bronx Zoo. Tune in to Eco Trip on the Sundance Channel for more tips on how to make your everyday products work for a better tomorrow.

Check your local listings or visit: www.sundancechannel.com/ecotrip
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Updated: 4/20/2009