Mobile phone company O2 has diverted over three million devices from landfills through its recycling program, which encourages consumers to dispose of their old phones sustainably and responsibly when upgrading.
The O2 Recycle scheme was launched ten years ago and since its launch, O2 has received and successfully recycled over three million phones from approximately 2.7 million customers.
The company say this means an estimated 450 tonnes of mobile phone waste has been saved from landfills.
The scheme is in partnership with Redeem, who is a global provider of recycling and re-commerce solutions for mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices.
The O2 Recycle scheme is integrated into the online upgrade process, customers are directed to the scheme whenever they are looking to upgrade to a new device and are then encouraged to sustainably and responsibly dispose of old phones.
Since the scheme was launched, O2 has paid out £226m to customers by buying back their old devices.
According to O2, 95% of the devices they received were in good condition and were then resold back into the market.
A high proportion of these re-sales took place within the UK, therefore reducing carbon emissions from transport while also helping UK customers to purchase cost-effective devices.
Nicola Green, director of corporate affairs at O2 said: ‘As a responsible business, we recognize the importance of doing the right thing for our customers and for the planet.’
‘We’re extremely proud of the fact that over the last ten years, our pioneering O2 Recycle scheme has saved 450 tonnes of waste from landfill, that’s the equivalent of thirty-five London buses.’
Simon Dunn, group managing director at Redeem said: ‘We have partnered with O2 for the last ten years, and both parties have invested in O2 Recycle as we believe its the right thing to do for our customers, for the environment and for the industry in general.’
‘We are proud to offer a sustainable and competitive option at all times for all customers and look forward to hopefully another ten years and more of this important work.’
O2 is taking further action to eliminate all single-use plastics from O2 branded accessories by the end of the year, reducing its environmental impact through a more innovative approach to packaging.
Photo Credit – O2