The Orange company and the Association of Mayors of Maine-et-Loire (AMF49) have launched an initiative to collect used mobile phones in more than sixty municipalities in the department.
From left to right: Philippe Chalopin, mayor of Baugé-en-Anjou and president of the Association of Mayors of Maine-et-Loire; Caroline Meunier, responsible for the AMF49 partnerships department; Jérôme Delalande, director of relations with local authorities in Maine-et-Loire; Fabienne Druenne, CSR Director Orange Local Authorities Department. – © AMF49
Since September 20, the company Orange and the AMF49 have joined forces for a collection operation for used mobile phones throughout the Maine-et-Loire department.
This action aims to raise awareness among residents and businesses of the importance of recycling mobile phones, knowing that 46 million mobiles are unused in France according to ADEME. The operation will continue until the end of February 2025
“Raising awareness among all residents”
To carry out the project, around sixty participating municipalities have installed collection points in town halls and various public places. The phones collected will then be reconditioned or recycled, in particular thanks to partnerships with companies such as Les Ateliers du Bocage, specialized in professional integration.
Mobiles in good condition will be returned to the market after a testing and data cleaning process, while those that no longer work will be disassembled to recover valuable materials, such as rare metals.
« A phone can contain up to 50 different metals, some of which are rare, hence the importance of recycling these devices instead of letting them sit in our drawers. », Explains Jérôme Delalande, director of relations with local authorities in Maine-et-Loire.
In 2023, 7,724 mobiles were recovered in the Pays de la Loire region. Since 2010, Orange has collected more than 8 million phones in France, including one million for 2023 alone.
For Philippe Chalopin, mayor of Baugé-en-Anjou and president of the AMF49, “ This large-scale operation in our territory will make it possible to transport as many smartphones as possible to a solidarity recycling sector. This is an action that raises awareness among our staff and all residents of the communes of Maine-et-Loire on environmental issues and professional reintegration. ».
To find out more, those interested can consult their town halls to find out the collection points available.
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