Telecommunications company Vodacom South Africa and not-for-profit producer responsibility (EPR) organisation Circular Energy have partnered to divert growing volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) from landfills into recovery and recycling programmes.

E-waste has become one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world, as demand for technologies rise, and this discarded waste is posing serious risks of pollution, health hazards and degradation to the environment.

South Africa is one of the highest generators of e-waste across Africa, producing 530-million kilogrammes of e-waste a year, equating to nearly eight kilogrammes per person, according to the United Nation’s Global E-Waste Monitor.

“E-waste is our business’s second most material environmental issue, and encouraging circularity is key to our purpose which includes empowering people while protecting the planet,” said Vodacom South Africa external affairs director Takalani Netshitenzhe.

Vodacom is supporting a move away from linear consumption patterns – where products are made, used and then discarded – towards a more circular economy, which minimises resource consumption and waste by extending the lifecycle of products.

In line with South Africa’s EPR regulations for various waste streams to ensure producers take more responsibility for the end-of-life impact of their products, Vodacom’s joint initiative with Circular Energy will ensure a robust system to collect, recycle and reuse waste responsibly across the company’s operations.

In the last financial year, Vodacom recycled over 1 273 t of network equipment.

Vodacom will work with Circular Energy’s takeback scheme to ensure the responsible collection, recycling and environment-friendly management of Vodacom’s e-waste, as well as other waste such as batteries, lighting and lighting equipment and packaging.

According to the GSMA, small information technology equipment and electronics constitute around 9% of the total e-waste generated globally.

The adoption of circular models shifts the focus to waste reduction and resource conservation while creating economic opportunities and opening pathways to unlock significant value currently lost in traditional 'linear' waste processes.

The establishment of critical waste collection systems and recycling infrastructure promotes waste diversion from landfills and supports economic development in South Africa with the emergence of a green economy.

This will create much-needed opportunities for income, green entrepreneurship, jobs and markets for the collection, extraction and recycling of materials.

“Vodacom, through Circular Energy’s initiatives, will realise not only reduced environmental footprints but also substantial economic and skills development benefits within the value chain,” said Circular Energy CEO Patricia Schröder.

As part of the collaboration with Circular Energy, Vodacom customers can have pre-loved devices collected from their homes to be recycled by completing a request form on the producer responsibility organisation’s website.

“Consumers play a pivotal role in promoting a circular economy. At Vodacom, we are encouraging our customers to actively reduce e-waste through our circularity initiatives,” said Netshitenzhe, noting that this includes repairing, reusing and recycling devices in the RedLovesGreen programme and taking advantage of Circular Energy’s home collection scheme.

Under Vodacom’s RedLovesGreen programme customers can return their devices to any of the 37 repair centres nationwide to be repaired, refurbished, resold or sent away to a Vodacom-approved recycling agency to be safely recycled.

Customers can also purchase a refurbished ‘Good as New’ phone, trading in their devices and taking longer 48-month contracts to extend the lifecycle of devices and reduce e-waste.

Vodacom South Africa is participating in Vodafone and Worldwide Fund for Nature’s ‘1 million Phones for the Planet’ campaign, which looks to raise consumer awareness about the e-waste problem and to incentivise customers to bring back their used devices for trade-in, donation or recycling.