End of Life Recycling
Last year over 2 million handsets were returned to Regenersis, representing over 828 tonnes of material.
About 20% of the handsets received are not suitable for reuse and are therefore sent for safe recycling. Regenersis operates a zero landfill policy.
The components and accessories are segregated into various streams, for example:
- Handsets are sent to a specialist recycling agent in Sweden where metals are extracted using waste-to-energy incineration
- Batteries are sent to a specialist recycler in France. Nickel cadmium, nickel hydride and lithium ion/polymer
are extracted and returned to productive use
- Chargers and accessories – the metals are recovered, the plastic is melted and used for traffic cones, buckets and horse gallops
- Mixed plastics, like phone covers, are melted and formed to make plastic sheeting.
Recycling rates are provided to both the Environment Agency and our customers as part of our WEEE obligation and our commitment to environmental excellence.
