RECYCLE ELECTRONICS AT ZOO ATLANTA TO HELP SAVE WILDLIFE

Bring electronics to the Zoo with a two-week campaign and a single-day recycling event 

ATLANTA – August 19, 2024 – Zoo Atlanta is hosting opportunities for Members and guests to promote sustainability, de-clutter their lives, and contribute to conservation by recycling electronics.   

Starting Monday, August 19 and continuing through Friday, August 30, 2024, visitors can bring small electronics, such as cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and digital cameras, to recycle with Zoo Atlanta. As an incentive, guests will receive $5 off admission for that day’s Zoo visit. Zoo Atlanta Members, who already enjoy free daytime admission year-round, will receive a free ticket for the Norfolk Southern Zoo Train or Endangered Species Carousel.  

For the recycling of larger items, Zoo Atlanta has partnered with Prime Asset Recovery to accept items such as monitors, desktop PCs and printers, during a single-day E-Waste Recycling Event on August 23, 2024. Items will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the circular drive outside Savanna Hall. Members and guests will receive the same incentives earned in recycling smaller electronics. Admission discounts are available only at Zoo Atlanta Admissions and may not be combined with other offers; the offer is not valid online.  

The recycling campaign and single-day event are being hosted by the Zoo Atlanta Green Team, an internal committee of Zoo team members who work to forward Zoo Atlanta’s on-grounds sustainability initiatives.  

All small electronic devices recycled through these programs will be recycled through the Gorillas on the Line … Answer the Call campaign and the Zoo’s partners at Eco-Cell. All proceeds from donated items will benefit the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Gorilla SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Program, which currently supports the work of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society in conservation projects for Grauer’s gorillas and Cross River gorillas.  

There is a direct connection between the manufacturing of small electronics and the future of wild gorillas. Cell phones and other electronics are produced using coltan, a rare substance found only in a few places in the world. Among these are the forests of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo – a center of gorilla habitat. As a result of mining for coltan, gorillas are displaced and even killed by poachers. Recycling old phones and similar electronics reduces the demand for coltan.  

Find full details on the recycling campaign and single-day event, as well as lists of accepted items, here on zooatlanta.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Davis
Director of Communications
rdavis@zooatlanta.org
404.624.2812

Gavin Johnson
Public Relations and Communications Specialist
404.624.5980
gjohnson@zooatlanta.org

About Zoo Atlanta
A proud accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the gold standard for animal care and welfare, Zoo Atlanta has a mission to save wildlife and their habitats through conservation, research, education, and engaging experiences. The Zoo is home to more than 1,000 animals representing more than 200 species from around the world, many of them endangered or critically endangered. Highlights include giant pandas.; one of North America’s largest zoological populations of great apes; and a global center of excellence for the care and study of reptiles and amphibians. Recent transformations include the African Savanna, featuring new and expanded habitats for African elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, warthogs, meerkats, and rhinos; Savanna Hall, a state-of-the-art special event destination in the restored historic former home of the Atlanta Cyclorama; and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Plaza. For more information, visit zooatlanta.org.