Ten years ago, O2 launched the O2 Recycle scheme, ten years later over three million devices have now been recycled, diverting 450 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Using a customer interface that is part of the online upgrade process, and monetary incentives (O2 has paid out a total of £226m to UK customers trading in their devices) O2 manages to receive about 95 per cent of the phones in good enough condition to be resold straight back into the market.

O2 has placed a premium on its environmental credentials over the decade, having achieved recertification to the Carbon Trust Standard for Supply Chain, at level 3, earlier in the year and being the first mobile company in the world to achieve the Carbon Trust Triple Standard for carbon, water and waste.

For customers, O2 were the first to introduce an Eco rating for new phones – working with manufacturers to assess handset sustainability credentials, providing an overall rating to help customers make an informed decision.

Small changes add up too – the company sold 250,000 phones without chargers, reducing the pile-up of unwanted chargers and electronic waste.

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