Mobile providers are already taking pre-orders for the new iPhone, which means is that many devices currently in use will no longer be needed soon. Many people will store their old device away in a drawer for the next few years in case they need it at some point in the future. They forget that the old device could be reused – better for the environment and the purse strings.
ReUse is part of Swisscom's circular economy programme and includes both Buyback and Mobile Aid.
Switzerland is still an iPhone country: Apple devices are still Swisscom’s best sellers. The latest iPhone generation is eagerly awaited by its loyal fan base. High-quality smartphones such as the iPhone are now all-rounders, often costing upwards of a thousand Swiss francs. They contain raw materials such as copper, silver or gold, and rare metals such as cobalt and tantalum. According to a study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), production accounts for 77 percent of the environmental impact of a smartphone’s entire life cycle. So a service life of just one or two years is a real waste. Each additional year of use could reduce the environmental impact by around a quarter.
This is exactly where Swisscom Buyback comes in, improving the devices’ eco-balance by giving them a longer service life. Swisscom buys back the device at its current value. Customers can find out how much their old smartphone is still worth in the Shop, by calling the hotline or by checking online. This amount can then be credited against the purchase of a new smartphone or transferred to the customer’s account. Customers can therefore achieve significant savings on the cost of a new device. A customer with an iPhone X in good condition, for example, can expect to receive several hundred francs. The devices are then reconditioned by Recommerce Swiss together with Réalise and prepared for resale. They are resold by M-Budget Mobile, for example, in response to the increasing demand for low-cost, second-hand devices.
If you would like to use your old smartphone to do your bit for children in need, you can go one step further and donate your old mobile phone to Mobile Aid. Devices that are no longer operational will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Usable mobile phones will be reconditioned and sold on, a process that also includes the deletion of data. The profits are donated to the SOS Children's Villages foundation. More than 80,000 devices were returned courtesy of Swisscom Mobile Aid in 2018, and these devices have done a lot of good: Mobile Aid has already helped to fund more than three million meals for children in need since 2012.
