Somewhere in Accra, Oli P. is standing at a garbage dump and is amazed. Representing the telecommunications giant Vodafone, the singer and presenter traveled to the capital of Ghana to see with his own eyes how many old smartphones end up in the trash in one of the busiest cities in Africa.

Isaac, the mobile phone collector, guides the German guest through the “graveyard of waste materials”, as Isaac calls it, and together they discuss the dilemma: unlike most European countries, Ghana does not have a sophisticated recycling; old smartphones just die out. in the discarded garbage. This is not only an environmental problem, but also a waste of resources. Many of the mobile phones could easily be repaired and reused, or at least exploited for the raw materials they contain so that they end up back in the cycle.

A caravan of trucks around the equator

Collectors like Isaac are the ones who collect old phones and resell them. By far the biggest customer: Vodafone. Together with the Dutch organization “Closing The Loop”, the German-speaking subsidiary of the group has launched a campaign called “One for One”, the aim of which is: for every smartphone sold by Vodafone to private customers in Germany, an old mobile phone it must be sent to the Accra scrapyard and end up in the cycle again. “Here in Ghana we see people who really want to change something,” P. says happily.

The “One for One” program has existed since June 2022 and the company announced its first successes in a press conference: more than 1.5 million mobile phones have already been collected in Ghana and another 1 will be collected next year. 2 million copies. continue year. Vodafone project manager Andrea Scholz says she is not aware of any similar program in the sector of a similar size.

In fact, the amount of electronic waste the world generates is becoming an increasingly pressing problem. Between 2010 and 2022 alone, the amount of e-waste generated annually almost doubled, according to a report published Wednesday by the UN, ITU and UNITAR organizations, from 34 billion to 62 billion kilograms. A caravan of trucks that will transport all electronic waste starting in 2022 would circle the equator.

The attractiveness of the Vodafone boss

In countries like Ghana, the situation is especially urgent, says Michael Jungwirth, a member of Vodafone's management team and responsible, among other things, for sustainability. In Germany, old devices end up less often in the trash, but more often disappear in drawers. According to the industry association Bitkom as of December 2022, Germans keep a total of 210 million unused smartphones at home.

If the contained materials end up in the hands of manufacturers instead of languishing in a drawer, the industry also benefits. Although companies are obliged to take back old devices, this opportunity has so far been very rarely taken advantage of. “The situation in Germany remains unsatisfactory,” says Andreas Manhart, researcher in the area of ​​products and material flows at the Öko-Institut Freiburg: “Each year the EU requirements for collection are not met by more than 20 percent. of old devices”. year “Every year several hundred thousand tons of raw materials are lost.” So it is not surprising that Vodafone boss Jungwirth appeals to his customers: “Please return the devices. Every device that is recovered makes the world a little better.” ”

“It's okay to buy a new mobile phone”

However, Manhart says, recycling is often only the second best solution. “Durable products, repairs and secondary use are significantly more efficient from an environmental and resource perspective.” Logical: every newly sold device inevitably becomes electronic waste at some point. If older devices are used for a longer period of time, campaigns like “One by One” may not even be necessary.

But of course, companies like Vodafone have an interest in offering their customers as many new smartphones as possible. It was not until January that the company caused a stir with an aggressive discount campaign for the new Samsung S24 model: anyone who exchanged their old smartphone received a discount of at least 500 euros.

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How can this contradiction be resolved? “Of course, we are in a market situation where there are innovations and technical developments, and we support them through advertising,” says project manager Scholz. “Because customers are looking for these innovations. And we would also like to make an offer.” At the same time, the company also offers services such as accepting old appliances or generous repair services. The latter will soon be mandatory across Europe after the EU agreed on the so-called “right to repair” at the beginning of the year.

However, it is clear: a company like Vodafone wants, and must, sell as many new devices as possible in the future. “It's okay to buy a new mobile phone!” says Scholz. “We don't want customers to feel bad about it. But it's about thinking: How can old mobile phones be given a second or third life?” And not only in the garbage dump in Ghana, but also here in Germany.