Orange, in conjunction with Emmaus International, has launched its fifth African mobile telephone recycling facility in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Mobile use is growing fast in Africa, making it a major environmental issue, with 500 million mobile devices on the continent as well as millions of discarded handsets which are often simply thrown away or burned due to the lack of recycling facilities in the majority of African countries.
For Orange, which is present as a network operator in 20 African countries, the recycling of mobile phone waste is one of the major commitments of its CSR policy.
The facility was inaugurated in the presence of the Ivorian minister for the environment, urban cleanliness and sustainable development Kouadio Remi Alla and Orange Ivory Coast director of networks and information systems Joseph Pitah. To mark the event, a first container loaded with 10 tonnes of mobile waste will leave Ivory Coast for recycling in France.
The first of these collection and dismantling facilities for mobile phones was opened in March 2010 in Burkina Faso. Others followed in Benin, Madagascar and Niger.
“In total, since 2010, more than 140 tonnes of mobile waste have already been sent to France for recycling, and over 30 long-term jobs have been created at the African facilities,” Orange said.
“Over the next five years, Orange and Emmaüs International plan to continue opening new collection facilities, confirming their partnership on this project, which contributes to local economies and social welfare while protecting the environment.”
