Rɘ as in Recycle: why recycle our phones?

Thousands of phones are lying around in our drawers in Luxembourg. Recycling or reconditioning these devices, whether they are in working order or not, would make a huge difference. With Orange's Rɘ programme, recycling your phone has never been easier.

Why recycle your phone?

In 2021, 1.5 billion phones were manufactured worldwide, and only 1-2% of them were recycled. Since the launch of the phone recycling program, more than 6,000 phones have been recovered by Orange Luxembourg. But there is still a long way to go.

Our old phones hide a real gold mine

The manufacture of a mobile phone has a real impact on the environment and natural resources. A smartphone contains many materials of various degrees of rarity, such as glass, ceramics, gold, copper, cobalt, silver, and tantalum.

In terms of figures, 1 ton of smartphones contains 300 grams of gold, whereas 1 ton of gold ore contains only 5 grams. This figure is even more important when you consider that by 2030, mining will probably have exhausted the gold reserves. Recycling mobile phones is therefore a key challenge for the future.

And it is not only good for the planet, but also for your wallet. Thanks to the Rɘ program, your old phone may still be worth some money.

Recycling your phone: at what cost?

Do you want to buy a new smartphone? Is your old phone collecting dust in a drawer? It's time to bring it to an Orange shop. It will be evaluated in the there and recycled or taken back depending on its state. How does it work?

1.Rɘ as Rɘdeem

When you come to our shop to have your phone valued, we can take it back in exchange for a voucher of up to €700. This amount depends on the model and condition of the device and can be used to buy a new smartphone or accessories in one of our shops. Your device is then sent to a local buyer who will refurbish it. After that, your device will return to the sales market as a refurbished device. All these steps are carried out with partners in Luxembourg, Belgium and France in order to reduce the impact of the refurbishment as much as possible.

2. Rɘ as Rɘcycling

If your phone has been sitting in your drawer for a long time, or if it can't be refurbished, we offer you a symbolic take-back fee of €2 so that we can recycle it. In this way, materials from your phone can be sorted, recycled and perhaps even given a second life.

And until August 1st, make an extra gesture by bringing your phone back to the shop with the green heart program. For each phone collected, Orange supports the Victor Hugo association by financing the planting of 10 trees for a replanting project from 19 to 28 August 2022.