Closing the Loop’s ‘One For One’ scheme aims to safely recycle one scrap phone in emerging markets for every new phone purchased by their partners, contributing to a virtually waste-neutral stream of mobile phone consumption.
Closing the Loop is on a mission to create a waste-neutral e-waste stream. Their ‘One For One’ model offers companies the opportunity to offset the impacts of their new mobile phone purchases. For each new phone entering into circulation, Closing the Loop will collect and responsibly dispose of a scrap phone in the emerging markets in Africa and Asia. These scrap phones are gathered at collection points, where they are then shipped to a recycling facility where the valuable metals can be responsibly recovered from the phones.
Closing the Loop has recently partnered with T-Mobile as part of their new recycling program to so that customers will have the chance to sell their phone back to the company, who then ensure it is correctly and responsibly recycled. Closing the Loop are also working with ING Bank and KPMG to help integrate circularity and improve the rate of resource recovery from e-waste.
Why you should care
E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world and has hazardous environmental and health consequences if not proplerly handled. Closing the Loop estimates that two-thirds of all re-marketed mobiles end up in countries lacking adequate recycling facilities, so the chances are that old phones will cause damage to people and the environment. They to reduce these health risks by recycling old phones responsibly.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Good health and well-being
Proper recycling services can help to reduce exposure to harmful substances found in e-waste that may otherwise by recycled informally.
Responsible consumption and production
The One For One model offsets some of the environmental impact of new mobile phone purchases. Safely recovering precious metals in electronics reduces the demand for new resources.
Life on Land
Landfilling e-waste can lead to chemical leaching and soil contamination. In addition, recycling existing resources avoids new resource extraction.
Closing the Loop
Closing the Loop is a Dutch company seeking to rescue scrap phones from emerging markets where they may be unsafely recycled, and recover valuable materials responsibly.
Global Goals addressed
