GSMA Launches Service to Help Operators Reduce e-Waste

GSMA Industry Services plans to help mobile players cut waste and benefit from the refurbishment and responsible recycling of end-of-life equipment through a new offering. The organisation’s Circularity Services program aims to help operators meet green commitments and recover value from existing assets.

It brings together services from commercial partners Closing the Loop and RGX. The former is focused on smartphone recycling, the latter an online marketplace for electronic waste management and enterprise asset disposal. Closing the Loop runs One for One, which collects and recycles an expired device for every new one sold by its customers.

RXG aims to help operators recover value from redundant equipment, support responsible recycling practices, and help operators turn circularity ambitions into action, its co-founder Sean Miles noted in a statement. Currently, RXG’s marketplace is only available in the US, though it plans to launch more widely.

The GSMA stated that Circularity Services was developed to address challenges operators face in finding practical ways to meet sustainability commitments and enhance commercial performance. It added that the initiative provides access to trusted partners to support recovery, reuse, refurbishment and responsible recycling of ICT kit.