More and more mobile phones are being dropped down toilets, left on car roofs, abandoned in taxis and lost on building sites every day, according to the mobile phone companies.
Eircell Vodafone said more than 2,000 mobile phones are reported lost or stolen every week but the company believes carelessness accounts for most of these losses. "People are leaving the phone othe car roof and then forgetting about it and driving away," said its spokeswoman, Ms Olga O'Keeffe.
"They are leaving them on the counter of the bar when they go to the toilet and find they are gone when they come back. And I'm afraid that some people do drop them down the toilet."
This week a British survey found that 600,000 mobiles were dropped down a toilet in the past year while 400,000 fell into drinks and 200,000 were put into washing machines. Ms O'Keeffe said it appeared Irish people were not as likely to put their mobile phones into the washing machine as their British counterparts.
About 2,000 Digifone customers lose or have their phones stolen every month. "Of the phones lost, most are left in taxis or pubs or clubs," said spokeswoman Ms Trina O'Connor.
"A certain percentage are dropped down toilets. But it would be a small number."
Digifone has encouraged people to donate their old phones to Oxfam's "bRing bRing" appeal. The phones are repaired or disposed of, with funds going towards aid projects.
The Kinlochbervie Hotel in Sutherland, Scotland, has set up a mobile phone creche. Staff tell callers that the person they are trying to reach is on holidays and can only be contacted in an emergency. Non-urgent messages are given to the guests when they check out.
Additional reporting: PA
