Pizza Pizza thinks green with Cells for Slices

April 7, 2010, Toronto – To do its part for Earth Month, more than 350 Pizza Pizza locations are accepting old cell phones and hand held devices as part of Cells for Slices, an annual cell phone recycling program that generates revenue for Food Banks Canada.

Throughout April, consumers can drop off their previously used cell phones and receive a free slice of pepperoni or cheese pizza.
 
The program recycles the parts or refurbishes the donated phones. Money generated from the sale of the phones is donated to Food Banks Canada in support of feeding the hungry across the country.
 
“Pizza Pizza has a longstanding tradition of working towards environmentally sustainable business practices,” said Pat Finelli, Pizza Pizza’s chief marketing officer. “We want to do our part to encourage and reward other people for recycling and supporting local food banks at the same time.”
 
In addition to the plastics and metals found in cell phones, the batteries contain chemicals that can be hazardous to the environment and should be kept out of landfills.  A recycled or refurbished phone can yield between $2 and $5 for Food Banks Canada.    
 
“There is no better way to enjoy a slice of pizza than doing so while making a donation to Food Banks Canada’s Phones for Food program,” said Katharine Schmidt, executive director for Food Banks Canada. “Cells for Slices is another way to support the close to 800,000 hungry Canadians that are assisted by food banks in Canada every month.”  
 
Since the program’s inception, Pizza Pizza has collected 4,656 cell phones.