Perhaps in your house, on your bedroom nightstand, or in that dusty drawer of your desk, there is one of those 5 billion Cell Phones unused, according to the GSMA.
Mobile operators target these phones for reuse, recovery or recycling as part of a more “circular” mobile phone supply chain.
As part of this commitment to circularity, 12 leading operators from around the world (BT Group, Globe Telecom, GO Malta, Iliad, KDDI, NOS, Orange, Proximus, Safaricom, Singtel, Tele2 and Telefónica) signed a new set of targets. systems developed jointly with the GSMA. The new goals aim to build on existing mobile industry initiatives and accelerate the transition from a take-do-recycle approach to a circular economy for mobile phones.
How to recycle 5 billion old cell phones
- Increasing mobile phone recovery
- By 2030, the number of used mobile devices collected under return schemes by operators will be at least 20% of the number of new mobile devices distributed directly to customers.
- Prevent refurbished mobile phones from being sent to landfills or incineration
- By 2030, 100% of used mobile devices collected by operators under take-back schemes will be repaired, reused or donated to controlled recycling organizations.
The GSMA further notes that “Together with existing commitments, this new set of targets is designed to help extend the life of existing mobile devices that are inactive by giving them a second life through recovery and reuse. By ensuring that recycled phones are not sent to landfills or incinerated, old and broken phones can be responsibly recycled to extract critical minerals that can be reused in new smartphones, helping to reduce the environmental impact of mining.”
Source: Digital Trends
