Love is in the air and so is the opportunity to do good for both wildlife and the environment at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

The neighbourhood zoo is celebrating Valentine鈥檚 Day week by inviting local residents to bring their old cellphones for recycling in exchange for a two-for-one admission pass.

Although the zoo runs this program all around the year, Menita Prasad, deputy general manager and director of animal care, is hoping for special attention from the community this week.

鈥淎s a Silverback Partner with the Eco-cell program, the Greater Vancouver Zoo offers this initiative year-round as an effort to keep local electronics out of landfills. This program helps reduce the demand for Coltan, an ore used in cellphones and popular electronic devices. Coltan is mined primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo where habitat is critical for the survival of endangered species, including but not limited to the Eastern Lowland Gorilla,鈥� she explained.

Most cellphones are made with Coltan, which is found in Central Africa and is located in the middle of wildlife habitats. Mining operations often result in losses to these habitats and increase hunting, shared Prasad.

By helping to reduce the demand for Coltan, the zoo aims to help save endangered animals and their habitats, she added.

The Greater Vancouver Zoo鈥檚 partnership with Eco-cell allows visitors to drop off their cellphones and accessories, whether they work or not, in collection boxes located at the entrance. Everything collected will be reused or 100 per cent recycled, preventing the release of potentially hazardous chemicals, such as antimony, arsenic, copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc.

鈥淲e are proud to provide this conservation initiative to our visitors and are hoping guests will recycle their old electronics and share the experience of a zoo visit with a loved one while learning about the importance of animals and ecosystems,鈥� Prasad added.

Although the zoo will be closed on Tuesday, Feb. 14 due to winter hours, people can visit during the Family Day weekend and the week after when the management plans to keep it open seven days straight.

For more information, people can visit .

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