Norwegians have accumulated eight million old mobile phones, making it ripe for recycling efforts, Telenor claims.
A study for the operator by Norstat reveals eight in ten Norwegians have at least one old handset cluttering up their homes, with two in ten having four or more redundant devices. Telenor released the stats as it launched an annual recycling campaign in conjunction with the Norwegian Confederation of Sports, a scheme the operator claims is welcomed by nine out of ten citizens.
“More than two million new mobile phones are purchased each year in Norway, but only a fraction of the old phones have been returned for reuse or recycling,” Telenor Norway chief Berit Svendsen says.
The operator has agreed to donate 35 Kroner (€4.71) for each old handset collected by members of sports clubs, and predicts the 2012 campaign will top the 6 million Kroner generated for clubs in 2011. The number of participating clubs has grown by 200 to 700 in total, and sports club members are tipped to pull in 230,000 devices this year compared to 174,788 in 2011.
"More than 90% of an old mobile phone can be used in some form of new production. I encourage everyone to dig through their junk drawers to find their old mobile phones to help the environment," Svendsen said.