South Africa
Lesotho
Mozambique
Tanzania
DRC
E-waste
Handset recycling and managing e-waste from our networks is challenging in some of our markets, which lack facilities for recycling and responsible disposal of e-waste. During the year Vodafone commissioned research to assess the systems for managing network waste in Ghana, India, Mozambique and South Africa, to explore how they can assist in building recycling capacity in these regions.
We aim to dispose of e-waste in an environmentally responsible manner by using accredited suppliers. They collect and dispose of our IT equipment, base station waste, old handsets and accessories old handsets, accessories and old batteries. Data on our network waste is sourced from network contractors, suppliers and service providers. We obtain safe disposal certificates and our Health, Safety and Environment department audits our suppliers to make sure waste is not dumped illegally.
In South Africa the amount of network waste we recycled in 2011 increased to 609 tonnes, compared to 208 tonnes the year before. This was mainly as a result of the RAN swap where old equipment is no longer used in other parts of the network but rather disposed of.
Our Vodacom Repair outlets (previously Vodacare) and our accredited recycling agency deal with recycling and scrapping of old handsets.