Of the 2 billion phones sold each year, 85% are not recycled or reused, according to data released last November by the GSMA. FRANK PERRY/AFP
According to their calculations, 5 billion inactive parts can be recycled or reused around the world.
This is probably the most urgent project for ecological transition of the telephony sector. When it comes to setting their sustainability ambition, operators and smartphone manufacturers everyone has the word recycling in their mouths. But progress remains timid on a global scale. Of the 2 billion phones sold each year, 85% are not recycled or reused, according to data published last November by the GSMA, the ociation which brings together 800 operators worldwide. “It limits the life cycle of the materials used to make (telephones, Editor’s note) and reduces opportunities to improve digital inclusion by expanding access to affordable reused devices”then estimated the organization.
How to go further? While each operator has its own strategy in this area, twelve world-cl operators (BT Group, Globe Telecom, GO Malta, Iliad, KDDI, NOS, Orange, Proximus, Safaricom, Singtel, Tele2 and Telefonica)…