Virgin Media O2 has announced that it has helped to process 3.8 million unused business devices through its O2 Recycle for Business service since 2009. The company said that of these, 92% were recycled or refurbished and sold ‘like new’ with the rest being broken down for raw materials.
It said that none of the devices it received have ended up in a landfill. This is good because these devices contain materials that need to be mined and are only available in limited quantities, this will help to keep costs down as parts won’t increase as much in price.
Businesses that hand over their redundant devices also get compensated for doing so. According to Virgin Media O2, it paid out £670,000 in the last year alone. Once it gets a device, it wipes the data that recycles, repairs, or harvests the useful parts.
According to a study it performed to accompany the relaunch of the service, 70% of businesses that responded said they would like to be greener but were not sure what to do with their electronic waste - as a result, they’ve been holding onto old phones and laptops for a year on average before disposing of them.
Three-quarters of businesses said that they needed to be more responsible about their tech disposal and 82% said they wanted a simple solution to get rid of their devices in a sustainable manner.
With the newly relaunched service, businesses can now register multiple devices for collection at once and they’re taken away via free courier collection. It also said that the service supports remote workers.
The compensation paid to businesses can be used to buy new devices via O2 or it can be donated to the Good Things Foundation which works on digital inclusion projects in the UK to closer the digital divide knowledge gap.
If you’re a private individual in the UK and also looking for a way to dispose of your device, the O2 Recycle service is also available to you too. Just head over to O2 Recycle and key in your IMEI or serial number to see how much your phone might be worth, it also accepts some wearables, tablets, and AirPods.
Source: Virgin Media O2