Five million old, unused mobile phones are owned by Croatian citizens, according to a 2022 survey by Hrvatski Telekom, many of which are kept in reserve instead of being disposed of as electronic waste, ensuring adequate disposal and recovery, and contributing to the realization of the circular economy that HT is also implementing. For example, recycling one million phones can reduce emissions equivalent to removing thousands of personal vehicles from the road in a year.
Where to go with old mobile phones
HT, as a socially responsible company, has been implementing an ESG strategy for years, the main goal of which is to extend the lifespan of devices, which is also encouraged by EU regulations.
– We want to be a sustainable company focused on users, connecting all people and providing them with all the benefits of digitalization, while efficiently using both energy and resources. Our ESG strategy is based on three pillars: climate change, resource efficiency, and digital inclusion. Resource efficiency refers to circularity – our ambition is to achieve full circularity in the technology and devices we bring to market. In fixed services, the equipment is owned by us and under remote monitoring throughout the duration of the contract.
Depending on the condition, we repair, refurbish, and re-market or recycle the equipment. Our biggest challenge is with mobile devices; phones, tablets, etc., which lose track once we put them on the market – and our greatest focus is on mobile equipment. This electronic equipment is the fastest-growing category of waste, and with technological development, it is growing even more. It was necessary to raise awareness among users about how they can contribute and introduce circularity models – says Katarina Brinar, an expert in HT’s Sustainable Management Department.
To encourage public education, HT launched the educational platform ‘A Call Not to Be Missed’ in April 2023, through which it informs users what they can do with old mobile phones and where to bring them.
– Even before that, we collected mobile equipment, but with the opening of the platform, in just 2024, we collected a total of 40,000 pieces of mobile electronic equipment: phones, routers, chargers… We made the most progress in collecting phones, with 30,000 of them, almost double compared to 2023 – says Brinar.
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What longer circulation
However, Mario Vukušić, director of HT’s Device Management Department, states that collecting old devices is not the only focus; the goal is to extend their lifespan.
– In this process, we have three levels. The first is return – these are devices that no longer work, are broken, and are electronic waste that goes for recycling. Companies that deal with this separate components that are valuable and reuse them in production. The second is – buyback, which refers to phones that still work. We collect such devices for partners, companies specialized in refurbishing such devices, which then return them to the market with a warranty after processing. They have defined price lists, and anyone on our website can see how much their phone is worth, depending on its condition. Through regular marketing campaigns, we encourage users when they take a new phone to return the old one. And the third step is – the forward trade-in program. In this program, the user receives a phone but pays a monthly installment reduced by the remaining value of the same. After two years, depending on the condition of the phone, they can take it and pay the remainder or return it. The goal is for these refurbished phones to return to users who are price and environmentally sensitive, and that is the circular economy, for that product to circulate as long as possible – explains Vukušić.
According to him, users who hoard old mobile phones are not aware that these devices lose software support from manufacturers after a few years, and batteries also degrade, making them commercially worthless and dangerous – there is no point in keeping them.
– The European Union has helped a lot because it has forced manufacturers to ensure at least five years of software updates, and the lifecycle of mobile phones in Europe is between 36 and 48 months, which is very good. The essential goal of the whole story is primarily to extend the lifecycle of mobile phones and ensure that users can bring old phones to one place, buy new ones, and after the plan expires, return them and take new or refurbished ones. The ultimate goal is to extend the lifespan of mobile phones, collect and dispose of old devices whose long-term storage in drawers can also be risky – notes Vukušić.
