Dispose of old phones for free while doing something good: Carina Uhlen and Jan Höschel present the Caritas Smartphone Box. Photo: Caritas / Imke Pieper
Caritas and Interzero launch the Caritas Smartphone Box
The Caritas Smartphone Box is now available to companies, institutions and associations for the sustainable disposal of old smartphones for a good cause. It allows employees to effortlessly discard their old unused devices while helping companies to make a positive impact at the same time. The new service, developed in conjunction with circular economy service provider Interzero, demonstrates Caritas’s commitment to sustainable social projects and environmental protection.
The organisation previously provided the CaritasBox for empty toner and ink cartridges – with great success, as the Box raised around EUR 800,000 for charitable projects over a 17-year period. Now Caritas is expanding its collection service to include smartphones. “The Caritas Smartphone Box allows everybody to ‘do their bit’ for good causes and the environment. We’re creating a win-win situation that helps us to conserve resources and protect the environment while raising funds for sustainable projects,” said Carina Uhlen, Managing Director of the Caritas CSR Competence Centre.
Interzero makes sure the process run smoothly
Circular solutions provider Interzero is an IT refurbishment expert and a long-standing partner of Caritas. For the CaritasBox, Interzero took care of every step from logistics to processing, all the way to reselling the discarded devices. Fifty percent of all proceeds go to Caritas to support individual projects geared towards the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Interzero designed the Smartphone Box specifically for this purpose according to the criteria set out in the EU Directive on the transport of dangerous goods. Jan Höschel, Managing Director of Interzero Product Cycle, said: “We guarantee companies a seamless process for the collection of old smartphones and onward transport of the box, as there are strict conditions governing the transport of lithium ion batteries within the EU.”
Certified CO2 savings
The CaritasBox is available free of charge across Germany. It also offers companies another advantage, as participating institutions and businesses can request a certificate from the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT confirming how much CO2 they have saved with the box. A study from the Institute shows what a difference this could make, as each collected smartphone saves an impressive 14kg of resources and 58kg of greenhouse gas emissions.
Interested companies can easily sign up for the CaritasBox by visiting sammelbox.interzero.de.
- Interzero
- Company & industry
About Interzero:
Interzero is one of the leading service providers in the field of closing product, material and logistics loops as well as innovation leader in plastics recycling with the largest sorting capacity in Europe. Under the guiding principle of “zero waste solutions”, the company supports over 50,000 customers throughout Europe in the responsible handling of recyclable materials, thus helping them to improve their own sustainability performance and conserve primary resources.
With about 2,000 employees, the company achieves a turnover of over one billion euros (2021). According to Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Interzero’s recycling activities could save 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases compared to primary production and more than 11.1 million tonnes of primary raw materials in 2023 alone. As a pioneer in the circular economy, Interzero is winner of the German Sustainability Award as well as the related special award in the “Resources” transformation field for 2024.
Further information can be found at www.interzero.com.
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