{"id":641428,"date":"2026-04-20T07:05:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T05:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=641428"},"modified":"2026-04-20T07:05:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T05:05:26","slug":"vodacom-sells-over-51000-refurbished-smartphones-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/641428-vodacom-sells-over-51000-refurbished-smartphones-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"Vodacom sells over 51,000 refurbished smartphones in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vodacom has sold more than 51,000 refurbished smartphones through its Good As New<\/em> programme, forming part of its wider push to reduce e-waste in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme gives customers access to more affordable, quality-assured smartphones while keeping usable devices in circulation for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said Good As New<\/em> supports circular-economy outcomes by reducing demand for raw materials and lowering the environmental impact associated with new-device production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The refurbished smartphone programme falls under Vodacom\u2019s RedLovesGreen initiatives, which are focused on reuse, recycling, and responsible device management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addressing this issue, Vodacom is supporting a move away from linear consumption patterns, where products are made, used and then discarded,\u201d a Vodacom spokesperson told MyBroadband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the company is promoting a circular economy, where devices are reused, refurbished, recycled, or recovered where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis minimises resource consumption and waste by extending the life cycle of products.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa produces about 530 million kilograms (530,000 tonnes) of e-waste a year, according to the United Nations Global E-Waste Monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is equivalent to almost 8 kilograms per person in the country. This discarded waste poses serious risks of pollution, health hazards, and degradation to the environment,\u201d said Vodacom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa is the biggest e-waste producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Across the entire continent, it is second only to Egypt, which produces 690,000 metric tonnes of e-waste per year with double the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said its device management programmes are aimed at reducing landfill waste and recovering value from discarded electronic equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom\u2019s broader sustainability work also covers energy efficiency, waste management, water reduction goals, and biodiversity protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its device trade-in programme is a key part of this strategy. It allows customers to trade in eligible devices for a monthly discount on an upgrade or new Vodacom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trade-ins are currently available at participating Vodacom stores for selected Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Vivo smartphone models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers must visit a participating store, where Vodacom checks whether the device qualifies and runs an in-store diagnostic test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phone must not be blacklisted, must switch on without being plugged in, and must pass the diagnostic assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycling and trade-in programmes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said its device trade-in and recycling work has developed from RedLovesGreen into broader partnerships and international campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIntroduced during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of Vodacom\u2019s sustainability drive, the RedLovesGreen Device Management Initiative encourages customers to trade in or recycle devices,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe programme forms part of Vodacom\u2019s broader sustainability programmes, which cover energy efficiency, waste management, water reduction goals, and the protection of biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom South Africa soon expanded on the RedLovesGreen initiative and, in November 2024, it partnered with Circular Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circular Energy is a Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment\u2013recognised Producer Responsibility Organisation focused on collection, recovery, and recycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The partnership aims to divert e-waste from landfills and channel it into formal recovery and recycling streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the partnership, Vodacom customers can request home collection of pre-owned devices by completing a form on Circular Energy\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said this makes recycling more convenient and supports its broader e-waste ecosystem for electrical equipment and electronic devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company also recycled more than 1,273 tonnes of network equipment during its last financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said that recycling infrastructure and collection systems can support South Africa\u2019s green economy by enabling collection, extraction, and materials recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has structured its e-waste ecosystem around five pillars covering take-back systems, green jobs, partnerships, circular practices, and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first pillar is convenient take-back, supported by Vodacom\u2019s Circular Energy partnership for device returns and collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second focuses on green jobs through an e-waste learnership programme for unemployed young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said learners are placed at recycling and refurbishment centres, where they receive practical training and mentorship from industry professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third pillar covers strategic partnerships that strengthen responsible recycling and resource recovery programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth covers circular economy initiatives such as Good As New<\/em>, which keeps usable smartphones in circulation for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fifth focuses on education and awareness, including e-waste literacy programmes at schools supported by Vodacom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said it trains ICT coordinators on proper e-waste management and has developed environmental education material for learners and educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also introduced competitions such as Eco-Warriors, which encourages learners to identify sustainability challenges and propose solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global and government initiatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said its local initiatives also align with Vodafone\u2019s global e-waste and biodiversity programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Vodafone and the Worldwide Fund (WWF) for Nature launched the \u201c1 Million Phones for the Planet\u201d campaign across markets in Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor every phone collected, Vodafone donated \u00a31 to WWF to support global biodiversity and environmental initiatives,\u201d Vodacom explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodafone and WWF announced in March 2026 that the campaign had reached its global target of one million phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said its e-waste work has also attracted interest from government departments and research bodies involved in circular economy planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has engaged with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and the CSIR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representatives from these organisations visited Vodacom\u2019s repair and refurbishment facility in Midrand in November 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said the visit focused on its reuse, refurbishment, and recycling processes for electronic devices across its value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The departments and the CSIR are developing a national circular economy programme to represent South Africa on global platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom said the engagement could support stronger public-private cooperation as South Africa works to reduce e-waste and recover more materials from discarded devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vodacom has sold thousands of refurbished smartphones through its Good As New programme in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":638581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17934],"tags":[104588,104589,41],"class_list":["post-641428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smartphones","tag-good-as-new","tag-redlovesgreen","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641428"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":641465,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641428\/revisions\/641465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}