Verizon Wireless Ranks Essex County, New Jersey, Residents #1

SHORT HILLS, NJ — Essex County residents donated nearly 1,100 no-longer-used wireless phones to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® phone recycling program during 2007 and over 300 in the first quarter of 2008 at the Verizon Wireless Communications Store located at The Mall at Short Hills on 1200 Morris Turnpike, earning the county the title of "Number One HopeLine Recycler" in Northern New Jersey.

A total of nearly 23,500 phones were recycled at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in the New York Metro area last year and more than 1 million nationwide. Donated phones are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase wireless phones for survivors. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

"According to the EPA, recycling 100 million cellphones would save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year," said Pat Devlin, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro region. "By recycling old wireless phones and accessories through Verizon Wireless HopeLine, New Jersey residents can help save the environment and, just as importantly, can make a difference in the lives of women and children affected by domestic violence."

Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to collect and recycle old cellphones and has done so since January 1999, first in New Jersey and then across the U.S. Nationally, the HopeLine program has collected more than 4.5 million wireless phones, and given nearly $5 million in cash grants and nearly 60,000 phones with airtime to domestic violence prevention organizations.

In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding for non-profit domestic violence prevention organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

HopeLine wireless phone donations also are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in New Jersey and across the nation. For store locations and additional information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 65.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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