2024-02-14 05:07:10
A smartphone owes a large part of its environmental impact to its production, which is why it is important that raw materials from old devices are reintroduced into the circuit. Find out what reuse options are available to you here.
To preserve the environment and save resources, it is best to use your smartphone for as long as possible and take advantage of reuse offers.
Pexels, Katya Wolf
Not much time ? blue News summarizes the essentials for you
- Rather than leaving old laptops at the bottom of a drawer, it is better to reuse them in one form or another.
- Swisscom encourages the circular economy by offering reuse and recycling programs for old devices.
- Customers can have their old cell phones repaired, sold or donated.
Around 75% of the environmental impact of a smartphone comes from its production. Rather than leaving old mobile phones lying around, it is better to reuse them in one form or another: this is the principle of the circular economy. So, instead of using new raw materials, materials from second-hand devices are reused.
Consumers can contribute to the reuse of raw materials from old smartphones through various circular economy programs, which also helps reduce CO2 emissions.
Recycle rather than store
We know the drill: the laptop falls on the bathroom tiles, the battery only lasts a few hours or the applications no longer work reliably since the last update. Indeed, following a certain time, smartphones exhibit various weaknesses and are then quickly replaced by new devices.
Old smartphones often end up at the bottom of a drawer, forgotten and abandoned. However, there are other solutions.
The cell phone cycle
Marius Schlegel, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Swisscom, explains how the circular economy is implemented:
“At the end of their useful life, we take these devices back. Those that work are reused, those that are defective are recycled. This way, raw materials are recovered instead of being wasted.
Reuse programs
Swisscom offers three circular economy programs for smartphones: Mobile Aid, Buyback and Refreshed. Thanks to them, users make a valuable contribution to the circular economy.
Mobile Aid
Clients can do donation of their old devices. Proceeds from resale and recycling are donated to the SOS Children’s Villages foundation. Devices that are no longer in use can be returned to a Swisscom sales subsidiary.
Buyback
Swisscom buy old devices of its customers. In this way, users can not only benefit from their old smartphones, but also contribute to the circular economy.
Refreshed
With Refreshed, Swisscom reconditions used cell phonesputs them back on the market and thus allows their reuse.
The 5 general rules of the circular economy
- Use the device for as long as possible
- Repair instead of throwing away
- Donate old devices and help people in need
- Resell unused devices to Swisscom and earn money
- Buy a second-hand device rather than a new smartphone
Your old smartphone contains valuable raw materials
As Switzerland’s largest telecommunications operator, Swisscom primarily focuses on extending the useful life and reusing mobile phones.
Thanks to reuse offers, customers make a valuable contribution to the circular economy. Every cell phone that gets a second life through refurbishment, resale or recycling counts.
This article was written in cooperation with Swisscom
Swisscom is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainability: climate protection, sustainable living and the proper use of new media. In 2023, Swisscom was awarded for the third time in a row as “the most sustainable telecommunications company in the world”
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