There are more than 30 million mobile phones sitting idly in drawers around Australia, which could be recycled to raise funds for primate conservation. Here’s how it works: 

• Collect any old mobile phones, chargers, and accessories to donate to the Zoo. Other electronic devices like modems, landlines, smart-home devices, VR headsets, and smartwatches are also accepted. Devices don’t have to work or be in good condition to be donated.
• Prepare your device by disconnecting it from any paired accessories and logging out of accounts like iCloud or Google Play, then perform a Factory Reset through Settings to wipe your data if you can. All remaining data, such as on damaged phones, is destroyed during the recycling process. Batteries should be left in the device when possible.
• Donate your items at our Zoos or arrange a free collection. Devices are sent to Mobile Muster and PhoneCycle to be recycled and support the circular economy.
• Funds raised from donations support the Jane Goodall Institute Australia’s conservation of critically endangered primates in central Africa.

Visit the Mobile Muster website for more details on what devices can be collected and tips on how to wipe your data.

Ready to protect African primates? Here's what you can do:

• As a guest - When you visit Taronga Zoo or Taronga Western Plains Zoo, bring your old mobile phone and accessories and place them in the collection bin at the front entrance. If you aren’t planning your next visit just yet, you can arrange to send your devices to MobileMuster for free via their website, using any of Australia Post’s 20,000+ drop-off locations.
• As an organisation - Involve your colleagues and do some good. Put out one of our posters and a small box for collection in your classroom, office or workspace. Once the box is full, arrange to send your devices to MobileMuster for free via their website, using any of Australia Post’s 20,000+ drop-off locations.

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Chimpanzees and gorillas are two of our closest relatives, both sharing over 98% of our DNA. They are also crucial species in their ecosystems, keeping forests healthy and diverse through seed dispersal. 

Despite their evolutionary and ecological importance, these great apes are threatened with extinction due to human impact. Vast areas of their habitat have been lost through deforestation for the timber and mining industries. 

Minerals and ores such as coltan - short for columbite tantalite - are in huge demand in today’s technology industries. Mined in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, these metals are used in the creation of electronics such as smartphones and sold all around the world.

Sadly, unregulated mining in Africa has taken its toll on local wildlife including critically endangered Grauer’s Gorillas and the endangered Eastern Chimpanzee. By opening up previously untouched wilderness to human exploitation, mining results in habitat destruction and wildlife poaching, with workers sometimes forced into the forest to hunt for food.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the richest deposits of coltan and is the world’s largest supplier of cobalt. We want to extend the life of the metals that have already been extracted for use in technology and reduce the demand for yet further mining of Gorilla and Chimpanzee habitat.

Coltan is just one of over 40 metals found in the average device. By sending your old phone through the free mobile phone recycling program you are diverting these resources from landfill and reducing the demand for new further mining.

Each device also raises funds for the Jane Goodall Institute Australia’s primate conservation work in the Congo, helping protect Great Apes, restore habitat, and improve the lives of the communities that live alongside them.