On Tuesday, twelve global telecommunications operators pledged to take back and recycle at least 20% of the mobile devices they sell by 2030.
This was announced in a press release by industry organisation GSMA.
UK's BT Group, the Philippines' Globe Telecom, Malta's GO, French Orange and Iliad, Japan's KDDI, Portugal's NOS, Belgium's Proximus, Kenya's Safaricom, Singapore's Singtel, Spain's Telefonica, and Sweden's Tele2 have all made the commitment that all collected old devices will be refurbished, reused, or sent for recycling.
More than 5 billion phones, which are currently unused by consumers worldwide, could be redirected for recycling. These could yield gold, palladium, silver, copper, rare earth elements, and other components worth $8 billion, as well as enough cobalt for 10 million electric vehicle batteries, the statement emphasised.