the second life of phones

Nearly 110 million mobile phones are lying around in our drawers, according to the Ecological Transition Agency. A cooperative, the Ateliers du Bocage, offers to collect them from individuals and businesses to recycle and recondition used phones, because 80% of a phone’s carbon footprint is linked to its manufacturing. More than 38,000 devices have been collected since January 2024. An initial sorting is carried out between the different phones.

Repairs with parts from old phones

Phones over seven years old end up in recycling, where the raw materials are revalued. The others go to diagnosis. “It’s a bit like the technical control of the phone“, explains Quentin Desailly, telephone workshop manager. More than 70 checkpoints are tested by the operators, who are also responsible for the complete erasure of personal data.

Phones can also be repaired using parts from obsolete phones. In 2023, around 500,000 telephones and 14,000 computers will have been upgraded by Ateliers du Bocage.