The majority of Canadians, 69 per cent, say their mobile phone is their most expensive personal item, however less than half of the population has actually repaired their phone and only 12 per cent of Canadians have ever purchased a used device.
To help address this problem, TELUS is encouraging Canadians to repair, recycle or upcycle their pre-loved phones or tablets, helping to contribute towards the circular economy by prolonging their device’s lifespan, reducing electronic waste and keeping them out of landfills.
TELUS is sponsoring Canada’s first ever Circular Economy Month this month, an awareness campaign that focuses on the importance of waste reduction and recycling.
“TELUS is committed to leveraging our global-leading technology and compassion to drive social change. To date, TELUS and our customers have responsibly recycled over 3.5 million devices and counting; this year alone, we’ve upcycled more than 80,000 used handsets into Certified Pre-owned devices, with potential savings of over 2,000 metric tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to selling new devices,” said Jim Senko, Executive Vice President and President, Mobility Solutions at TELUS.
“We’re so passionate about the circular economy and the power of responsible device recycling as pre-loved devices are put back into the market through resale, our Bring-It-Back program or repairing devices at our Mobile Klinik stores so they can have a prolonged life. These sustainable business practices are part of TELUS’ commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and become a zero-waste, carbon-neutral company by 2030.”
Canadians can be an active participant in the circular economy this month and all year round by recycling and upcycling their devices.
Bring your devices into a TELUS store where the team will responsibly recycle them to keep it out of landfills or upcycle them to connect a Canadian-in-need through TELUS’ Mobility for Good program. TELUS will also plant a tree for every device recycled as part of its mission to plant its one millionth tree.