Recycle Electronics. Help Protect Gorilla Habitat.

The 5th Annual Earth Day E-Recycling with MCPC at the Zoo is approaching and it’s a great time to round up those broken and retired electronics. While you sort and organize, why not learn a little more about the connection between electronics recycling and gorilla conservation? It’s a tough subject, but an important one – and a call to action.

Coltan, a shorthand term for columbite-tantalite, is a mineral used to manufacture small electronics such as phones, tablets, and mp3 players. Mined in critically endangered Grauer’s gorilla habitat in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the demand for Coltan is harming important forest ecosystems and the myriad species that call them home. Destroying habitat, increasing poaching, and displacing threatened species as well as local human communities, the often-illegal mining operations also contribute to violent conflict and human rights abuses in DRC and corruption throughout the supply chain.

Volcanoes on border of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo

Coltan is mined in gorilla habitats

The Zoo is helping secure a future for Grauer’s gorillas through its partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF). Working with local communities in and around the Nkuba Conservation Area, DFGF trackers are monitoring and protecting a 600,000 acre forest that is home to Grauer’s gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants, leopards, and many more beloved species.

As consumers, there are a few simple but impactful actions we can take to divert coltan from landfills and decrease the demand for unsustainable mining:

• Extend the life of electronics. Elect not to upgrade your phone as soon as a new version becomes available and take care of all your devices to keep them functioning for as long as possible.
• Recycle retired electronics when you upgrade – don't throw them out.
• Donate to the Zoo’s gorilla conservation program to support its work with DFGF.

Spread the word and collect devices and gadgets from your friends and family to recycle at the Zoo on Earth Day! We can all help protect the incredible biodiversity of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s forests, including its incredible gorillas.