Orange brings mobile phone recycling to African nation
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 - 11:57:35
Orange may have joined forces with T-Mobile to become EE in the UK, but it is still an independent brand in other parts of the world. And now its French arm has announced that it will be opening a mobile phone recycling centre in Ivory Coast, in an attempt to encourage those living in this African nation to dispose of their unwanted devices responsibly.
Orange has long had a partnership with charitable organisation, Emmaus, with the pair working together to build various recycling facilities in Africa over the past decade, according to Lets Recycle.
The latest facility in Ivory Coast was opened at the end of last month and the event was marked with the arrival of 10 tonnes of old mobile phones and other electronic waste.
The unwanted devices are not being recycled in Africa itself, but are instead collected at this and other facilities, before being shipped back to France for processing.
The facilities built by Orange and Emmaus in African nations are deliberately kept on a small scale so that they can be run by locals for the benefit of the community. And even with relatively small teams involved, each year they managed to export at least 10 tonnes of recycling waste to France from every facility.
Old mobile phones contain lots of hazardous materials which need to be carefully disposed of, as well as valuable metals and minerals, which can be reclaimed and used in the manufacturing of new products. So ensuring that recycling is carried out internationally is important.
In France alone, it is claimed that Orange has collected three quarters of a million old phones, with many other providers and companies carrying out similar schemes, to ensure the industry grows and awareness is spread far and wide.
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