Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Posts Earth Day Milestone

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 23:17:10 -0400

Nextel Posts Earth Day Milestone

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2003--

One Million Phone Mark Passed as Nextel Commemorates Second
Anniversary of Phone Recycling Program - Company Cites
Environmental and Economic Success

Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL) today marked Earth Day by announcing that it has
recycled more than one million phones as a result of a two-year old program designed to
re-use and recycle old wireless phones.

The program, launched in mid-2001, encourages customers to turn in their older wireless
telephones when purchasing a new phone. To date, more than one million phones have been
recycled under the program preventing them from being sent to city and county landfills.
"Nextel takes seriously its commitment to being an environmentally responsible corporate
citizen," said Christopher Brown, Nextel vice president of customer operations. "And the
word is finally getting out to consumers that wireless phones should be included in their
recycling plans."

How the Program Works

Nextel retail stores collect surplus and inactive wireless phones, regardless of make or
model, usually when customers are purchasing their new phone. Phones previously sold by
Nextel are sent to a company facility in Texas, where they are sorted into several
categories:

-- Handsets that can be repaired or refurbished;
-- Handsets that are beyond repair; and,
-- Handsets that are of minimal use because of age or technology.

The recycling process includes stripping the phones of contents that may be harmful to the
environment, such as caustic metals used in handset components. Potentially harmful
components and substances are extracted and disposed of in accordance with applicable
federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations.

The remaining components are then recycled, again, adhering to current environmental
recycling standards.
"By re-cycling the old phones Nextel Service & Repair is realizing the full potential of
this equipment," reports Gary Moore, Nextel national service program manager, "and that
makes sense for us and the environment."

Nextel has also conducted innovative "Donate a Phone" programs encouraging consumers to
donate old, unused wireless phones with the proceeds being directed towards community
based organizations. In the Fall of 2002, Nextel conducted Donate a Phone drives with five
professional football teams, and donated new phones and airtime to anti-domestic violence
organizations in those cities.

In 2003, Nextel concluded a program with the National Hockey League in which phones were
donated in conjunction with Nextel promotional nights, and $25,000 in proceeds was donated
to the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer charity.
Nextel plans on continuing its Donate a Phone program with non-profit organizations as
part of its continuing efforts to raise awareness of the need to recycle wireless phones.

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